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| Latest News for Business
September News
Welcome to this months BEC Enews. We are travelling well in August at the BEC
with a lot of hard work setting up the new contract with the Australian Government.
We have appointed two new Business facilitators. Kerry Hallett has been promoted
to a full time position as Business Facilitator servicing the Cessnock, Maitland
and Dungog Shires. Kerry has been with us for a couple of years in Business Admin
and in more recent times doing part time business facilitation. Julie Fibbins
from Muswellbrook has been appointed to a full time position as Business Facilitator
in the Upper Hunter servicing the shires of Singleton, Muswellbrook and the Upper
Hunter. Both women will be cold calling on existing businesses as part of their
new role.
Part of the new contract is for the BEC to offer referrals for our clients to
Professional Advisors. We already have quite a number of Accountants and Lawyers
as members and also a couple of Town Planning & OH&S Professionals. If
members are experiencing difficulties in any area of their business be it Financial,
Legal, Planning or OH&S please give us a call and we may be able to guide
you to someone who can give you supported professional advice at a low cost fee.
The BEC through its contract with the Australian Government will pay the first
$250 of any consultation with one of our Professional Advisors up to a maximum
of five visits only.
At the end of July our membership was 296. We welcome those new members who have
joined over the past month or so. We welcome you as a member of the network and
hope that you may attend our monthly functions and other events we have planned
for the year.
Next member network function Friday 12th of September:
"2008 Hunter Region Business Excellence Awards"
September is the big one for the BEC and for many of the businesses across the
Hunter. It is the night of nights for 2008 when 74 entrants vie for the coverted
trophies and Business of The Year. Setsuko and Yataka at Ogishi Glass Art have
excelled with this years trophy. It will be a prized addition to many a business.
We will have entertainment from one of our newest members Harps and Hearts and
Andrew Marsh of Marsh Estate Vineyard will be the guest speaker at the awards.
To book your seats give Jaime a call this week on 4936 2557. Bookings close this
Friday. We look forward to seeing many of you attend.
Reshuffle of staff at the BEC:
Over the past month due to the promotion of Kerry Hallett and the resignation
of Debbie Barwick as the AEDO we have had to employ new people and promote Craig
Layer. Craig has moved from his position of New Careers for Aborigianl People
(NCAP) to the AEDO role vacated by Debbie. This necessitated the employment of
a new NCAP officer. Darren Wright of East Maitland has taken up the role of New
Careers for Aboriginal People and has settled in very quickly. Darren already
has a strong network in the Aboriginal community.
We have appointed Lydia Carr to replace Kerry in the Admin role. Lydia has extensive
experience in admin.
Up Coming Workshops and events for September
1st of September: 7 Steps to Business Success. Duration 3hours at Kurri Kurri
2nd of September: 7 Steps to Business Success. Duration 3 hours at Muswellbrook
12th of September: Business Awards in Maitland
15th of September: Business Planning workshop at Kurri Kurri.
16th of September: Business Planning Workshop in Muswellbrook
Information fliers on all of these events will be sent as they come up. If you
want more information on any of the planned events during September give Jaime
a call on 1300 304 794
NEIS workshop for Kurri Kurri:
We have a NEIS workshop for the unemployed wishing to start a business set down
for Kurri Kurri in September. People wanting to know more about NEIS and what
it can achieve for them can contact the BEC on 4936 2557 or 1300 304 794.
It wasn't that long ago that we thought the NEIS program would get the chop in
the new Job Network Contracts. A lot has gone on over the past two months behind
the scenes. We now know that there will be some 18,000 NEIS places available over
the next three years. This is an excellent outcome and will see this most successful
self employment program continue for the next four years.
For more information on NEIS give us a call.
Vacancies in the incubator:
We have four offices currently for lease and have an industrial unit vacant.
Rents for Office space are $12.50 a square metre and average around $75 per week.
The industrial unit is 100 square metres and is priced at $770 a month. If you
know of someone wanting to relocate to the area or are considering moving out
of home ask them to give us a call at work on 4936 2557.
Small Business September:
There will be a host of events on during Small Business September hosted by the
NSW Department of State and Regional Development. Our event is the Business Awards.
You can browse the events calendar at www.smallbusinessmonth.nsw.gov.au or ring 1300 661 539 for more information.
New start-ups display good credentials:
According to a study being conducted out of Queensland University of Technology,
shows that Australian start-up firms are founded by experienced and highly educated
people who are at least as growth oriented and technologically sophisticated as
their US counterparts.
The study will cover 600 Australian start-ups and another 500 new companies to
investigate the factors leading to success and failure over the next four years.
Knowing what cash Flow is all about:
This is important. It is actually more important than profits. Getting money
in once you have earned it is vital to survival, unless you have unlimited resources
or can use other peoples money (ie Government). Positive cash flow means that
the money is coming in faster than it is going out. It does not mean that the
outfit is profitable. The money could be coming in because fixed assets are being
sold, or because one is reducing stocks to compensate for a declining market.
Whatever the case, it is generally a Good Thing.
Quote of the month:
"First we form habits, then they form us. Conquer your bad habits, or they'll
conquer you". Robert Gilbert
Have a great month
Rod Doherty
Manager
The Hunter Region BEC proudly acknowledges the Coal and Allied Community Trust
as our principal sponsor and thanks our other supporters for the opportunity to
serve the business communities of the Lower and Upper Hunter.
Our slogan: "Building Better Business in the Hunter tm"
If you do not want to receive this newsletter in future please give us a call.
email admin@hunterregionbec.com.au to opt out. |
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