Doing business the old fashioned way - face to face

As you're all aware (I hope!!) by now, we're holding the Ryde Business & Sustainability Expo next Wednesday, 5 August. Several of our members are exhibitors. Over the two years we've held the Expo so far, our exhibitors have reported good leads and have turned some of those leads into customers and clients. At the very least, they have expanded their marketing database by 350+ leads each year.

I LOVE electronic marketing. I'm the email queen. But meeting new potential RBF members face to face is important - we can gain mutual trust by chatting and observing each other. From last year's Expo we gained a number of new members and they have all renewed their membership this year.

The Expo is a powerful tool. If you're an exhibitor, you MUST make the most of the opportunity by encouraging your existing clients to come along. They could meet other contacts there who will fulfil some of their business' other needs - and will have you to thank for the introduction. The Expo isn't a case of "if we build it, people will come". It relies on exhibitors being marketing managers for the Expo as part of their own business' marketing strategy.

RBF markets the expo to around 500 contacts plus newspaper advertising, Expo Edge to several thousand. Marketing the Expo can be as simple as including a banner in your email signature. So, if you're an exhibitor, have you marketed your presence there?

Get Creative with Bringing Nature Indoors – Indoor Aquariums are all the rage.

Australian Federal Pollie, Joe Hockey has one in his office even naming his favourite fish, ‘Big Kim’ and Tom Cruise sent one as a gift for Jennifer Lopez’s twins. Not sure about that but as the nursery is themed Pacific, I suppose I’ll let him get away with it. Indoor office aquariums are all the rage.

The point is getting close to nature in the office can take many creative and enjoyable forms. Working in cupboards with no elements of nature suurounding employees causes stress, anxiety and is un-natural.

And it’s not a new philosophy, according to the ancient art of Feng Shiu used by thousands of business people around the globe, aquariums help create balance between our lives and the environment, helping to restore harmony with our natural world. Fish keeping as it is known can energise your office with living colour and is beneficial in reducing stress. Here’s a few Feng Shui tips to get you started:

•Clean, flowing, well-lit water with fish is the ultimate way of transforming bad energy
•Black fish represent protection -- very handy to stave off the evil eye from your colleagues or loved ones. Goldfish are “baby dragons” in feng shui and considered very lucky.
•The Chinese word for fish, “yu”, is the same as the word for success.
•If fish are placed in the office or home, it is believed good fortune will follow.
•An aquarium on the left hand side of your front door (as you face it from inside) encourages good ‘chi’, the energy force that flows throughout the Universe.
•So if you have a business reception area for visitors that is the ideal position. Three fish symbolise “yang” energy. The best combination is two goldfish (representing good luck and energy) and one black fish (representing protection).

Your can hire a aquarium for your business from TPR GROUP. All aquariums are wall mounted, so take up very little space. They are installed for you and fully maintained. And reasonably priced too starting as little as $30.00 per week. Available through TPR GROUP.

Seth Godin & Tom Peters on blogging

Its the digital age - & no one explains the new rules better than Seth Godin.

The guy is a guru.

Get busy with your permission based marketing & stop the old style interruption marketing today!

Auction Clearance Rates - at 70%

National Market Snapshot
Week ending: Saturday, 25 July 2009

Total auctions : 370
Sold : 263
Withdrawn : 8
Clearance rate* : 70%
Total Sales : $ 154,024,400
Median : $ 559,500

Click here to see results by city.

Shouty workmates and stress levels

We've probably all been on the receiving end of a shouty boss from time to time. How do you react when the boss shouts at you for something that's not necessarily your fault? For example Mr or Ms Shouty could simply be having a bad day and you're in the firing line. Is shouting back a good idea? (No!) What's the best way of handling management blowups? What works for you?

And if you're the boss, what would make you give one of your employees the sharp and loud end of your tongue? Is getting angry your usual management style?

Despite all the training we get on how to deal with people in the workplace, we're all only human and subject to 'snapping' once in a while. Sometimes it can have unfortunate consequences - as a snapper you might be pulled into the HR Director's office for a talking to or worse, especially if the snappee complains about your language; as a snappee you might plot revenge or storm out for the rest of the day (which is also disastrous for the boss in very small businesses!).

For those in a corporate situation, open plan offices mean most of us exhibit good behaviour most of the time - we are afraid of embarrassment if we lose our temper in front of our co-workers. But is that necessarily a good thing? Does having to hold an outburst in do nasty things to your stress levels and blood pressure?

Often getting up and going for a walk - outside if you're able to - can let you calm down and think rationally rather than exploding. If you do feel the need to pull a co-worker into line about something, you'll have time to plan what you're going to say and also plan suitable responses to what your co-worker may say...hopefully all without shouting.

It's my personal view that open plan offices, with their lack of privacy and high ambient noise levels, cause a lot more stress than the old-fashioned office layout where people had peace and privacy and the ability to close their doors if they wished to concentrate or have a discussion with a co-worker. What's your experience?

ArtVase - new trend in design

Just had to show you all this, it's one of our new artvases, exclusive to TPR Group. A sculpture and living plant all in one, so now everyone can throw out all those artifical plants that are bad for the environment and use something stunning in your reception or boardrooms, ideal for weddings and events also. This one has a floral arrangement, most prefer a living orchid or similar. Artvases are really cost effective, start from $35.00 per week for hire. Off to deliver this in Ryde now, but just had to show you.

Auction Clearance Rates - remain well above 70%

More positive stats to consider.

Here is the Sydney picture -

Property Snapshot
Sydney Auction Results
Saturday 18th July 2009
Total properties:145
Sold:112
Withdrawn:5
% Cleared:75
Total sales:$70,572,704
Median:$627,500


Click here to view a nationwide picture.

Fair Work

Hi Folks,

As you are aware the new Fair Work legislation is in place. How do you think this will affect your workplace? Has it already had an effect? If you are a business owner, is Fair Work good or bad for you?

Sabrina

Ryde Business Forum

info@rydebusiness.com.au

You can't afford NOT to have plants in the office

Indoor plants go beyond just making an office environment feel warm, they clean the air of powerful toxins known as VOC's. These toxins are found in carpets, paints, cleaning agents etc. There are some 400 identified toxins known to be present in indoor office air.

My own office has plants everywhere. When I walk into work each morning I do notice the feeling of happiness the environment brings to me, but then again I work around nature, even our lunch room overlooks a lake. You can learn more about our happy culture at TPR Group on our blog. Would love it if you followed us.

Workcover Authority of NSW recommends plants be used in the workplace to help alleviate characteristics of Sick Building Syndrome. You only need 1 plant for each 10sq metres. So don't let absenteesim cost you money, for as little as $3.50 a week you can have a living mini garden on your own desk. Don't work in a cupboard, get close to nature to keep you happy and productive. View this fun video on how plants clean the air and I think you will agree too!
Contact us for a free quote and don't forget to say you are a member of the Ryde Business Forum



View our blog The Nature of Happiness for more info

Trend Micro Tops theCompetition in West Coast Labs Testing

Last February, West Coast Labs (WCL), a global leader in research, testing, and certification for information security products and services, concluded an independent test in which it compared Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Security Advanced 5.0 (WFBS-A) for small and medium businesses with similar products from Symantec and McAfee.

Trend Micro WFBS-A meets the latest security challenges and offers complete endpoint protection that clearly beats competitive offerings. "Trend Micro WFBS-A goes far beyond a simple anti-malware, anti-spam, or firewall product, and provides high levels of security combined with maximum efficiency for the small-to-medium size business", according to the WCL report.
Read the full WCL comparative testing report

To Purchase Trend Micro Product, Please contact sales@pcpowertech.com.au

Northern Districts Property Market remains tight

With the First Home Buyers incentives due to wind down in September there will be a last minute rush to secure sub $500k stock.

My advice to buyers is to do your research & be ready to make an offer when you find your ideal property.

Stock remains extremely tight towards the premium end too - I have far more buyers than listings.People willing to spend well over $1m to secure the right property.
Just two weeks ago I sold a home in Denistone East for the suburb record of $1,280,000.(Click to view).

Interest rates remain at all time lows & quality stock continues to be hard to come by.This will ensure prices will stay in positive territory.
Great news if you are looking to sell.My advice is make the move now rather than wait for more competition in Spring!

Chocolate boosts brain power!

If you're the kind of person who heads for a chocolate fix in times of stress at work or when your creativity deserts you, here's some good news.

According to research from the British Psychological Society, chocolate improves your mental sharpness. In the study, adults were given either a chocolate drink containing 520 mg of cocoa flavanols or one with 993 mg cocoa flavanols, while a control group received a placebo drink. All three groups were then given challenging mathematical problems. The two sets of participants who had the flavanol-rich drinks performed significantly better on the tasks; they also reported feeling less tired.

The best type of chocolate to eat is plain dark chocolate, 70% cocoa or more. So keep away from the sweet chocolate bars with filling, and stock up on the good stuff. If you find your creativity improving as a result, don't be too surprised!

How does your company feel about social networking for business?

Astute visitors to our website will notice we've got a Facebook logo on the lefthand side...which leads to our RBF group on Facebook. Social networking - Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter et al - are a way of life for many Generation Ys and Xs. But how do employers feel about them?

Many employers encourage or at least allow their employers to use social networking during working hours if it's work related. Canny companies use the system well and deliver media releases and news campaigns via social networking (and RBF will be bringing you a workshop on how to do this yourself later this year).

Some larger organisations use Facebook as a means of employees getting to know one another over separate worksites and project groups - fantastic in a situation where you're working for a multinational, dealing with people overseas on a daily basis and want to put a name to the face.

However I had an interesting chat with a manager at the company I used to work for back in the 90s. No names mentioned but it was a big multi-national. He told me that the company had globally banned its employees from using Facebook in company time. Linked In, yes, that was appropriate, but Facebook was a 'time waster'. It was banned on their server and anyone who got around the ban, even during lunch break, was in firstly for a warning and then sacked for a second offence. Facebook is seen as a plaything rather than a useful tool. Employees are free to use it on their home computer...but even then company reps like the guy I spoke to search and monitor all employees who put the company name in their profile to ensure they are not posting damaging words or images about the company.

Is this overkill? What's the verdict on Facebook in your company?

Sabrina Ferguson

RBF's new blog home. Easier to use for our members.

Hi folks, some of you have had difficulties logging onto our old blog - it was a bit of a cumbersome system. Now all you need is a Google account to join in and make posts and comments about business in Ryde - or business in general.

Starting the ball rolling, we have our Expo coming up on 5 August. Several exhibitors aren't from the Ryde area, and we don't have a problem with that; they are hoping to do business with you and may offer just what you want to make and keep your business successful. It's a good reason to come along and see the expo and go to the networking function afterwards. We're expecting around 100 people at the cocktail party. Many of them will be familiar to you as RBF members, but all exhibitors are urged to invite their own guests and clients... so what an event it will be for our members - tons of new people to talk to and get your business in front of.

And on 7 August we've got another networking opportunity as the Sydney Hills Business Chamber, Hornsby Chamber and Chatswood Chamber join with us in a joint networking event at the Stamford to raise money for Watoto, a charity caring for parentless African children.

So the first week in August isn't a time to be shy - make sure you've got stacks of business cards, and get out there and work it!

- Sabrina Ferguson