Soggy greetings, Reader,
OK. Enough of the rain, already! My dog is waterlogged and the letter box is sprouting green shoots. But the bright side is that I could spend all weekend catching up on some indoor chores without feeling too guilty.
I attended a very interesting breakfast seminar this morning, organised by NSW Business Chamber, and presented by a young man named Michael McQueen. The topic was “Communicating with Generation Y” (ie those born between about 1981 and 2000). Without going into a lot of detail, I will applaud Michael for one of the most professional and enjoyable presentations I’ve attended for a long time. Leaving aside his subject matter (which was really interesting), Michael’s relaxed but energetic presentation manner, his effective use of a couple of pairs of reading glasses as props, and his excellent use of PowerPoint slides as prompts for his content were all absolutely top class.
It goes to show that, no matter how many presentations you have attended (and as an ex-Canberrite I’ve attended countless), there is always something more to learn – about the art of presenting, let alone the subject matter.
Port
Sometimes I feel even older than I do at other times.
If today’s Update seems a bit disjointed, it is because my BEC email service has died, so I have lost my access to your submissions for this week’s email, as well as my reservoir of events items. I typically receive between 70 and 80 emails per day (up to 200 on a Monday), and send roughly the same number. Without email I feel as though my right arm has been cut off. Isn’t it frightening how dependent we have become on a technology that didn’t exist 25 years ago.
Let’s struggle on, with this week’s offerings:
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805W002 Manual Bookkeeping (how appropriate, as my technology has failed me)
Maintain Financial Records - Tuesdays, May 6th to June 24th. 8 sessions 6.00pm – 8.00pm $175
805W004 Networking Skills for Shy People in Business
Effective networking is essential for successful business. Learn how to enjoy meeting new people.
Thursday May 29th.1 session 9.00am – 4.00pm $65
805C012 Website Design and Maintenance (this is the course I enjoy presenting)
Learn how to understand and maintain the content of your own web site – for business people, not nerds!
Wednesday May 14th to May 28th. 3 sessions 6.00pm – 9.00pm $85.
To reserve your place, call the College on 6583 7288 or go to www.portace.com.au
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Our next Networking breakfast will be held on Thursday morning 8th May, at Rydges Port Macquarie.
David Capper, Manager of Rydges, and his excellent staff will make us very welcome.
As usual, charge is $20 for members, and $25 for guests and visitors (payable at the door - cash, cheques and gold bullion only, please)
This month I will be assisted by Terri from the Events Management class at TAFE NCI, as a work experience exercise.
You can RSVP now if you would like, to admin@hastingsbec.com.au
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Farewell to Michael Young, formerly Exec Officer for Port Macquarie Chamber of Commerce.
Mike has flown off – literally – to take up the role of manager of Business Development Enterprise in
Sorry to see you go Mike, and best wishes from HBEC.
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Please find below the URL for a copy of a presentation Sol Trujillo, Telstra CEO, gave to a Communications Day Summit on the 16 April, in
http://www.telstra.com.au/abouttelstra/investor/asx_announcements.cfm
The theme of Sol’s speech is the importance of the gigabit age to
Michael Sharpe, General Manager, Mid North Coast for Telstra Country Wide wanted to send this to the thought leaders in our community to provide an understanding of how
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Don’t forget that The Springboard Business Development Program is set to kick off this week. There is a place left for anyone interested in developing and growing their business. For more information go to: http://www.portace.com.au/Springboard.html or phone the College on 6583 7288.
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Women in Business Regional Program
The Women in Business Regional Program has been developed to improve the business skills of women who own or operate a small business in a regional community and assist them to grow their business. The Program is very practical and is designed to meet the needs of local businesswomen.
The program offers businesswomen a combination of:
· Business skills training workshops;
· Opportunities to work with an experienced business person, who will act as a mentor to small groups of women on the program; and
· Networking events, where you will be able to meet other businesswomen and representatives of local business organisations.
The program will be held in PORT MACQUARIE and will run over a 3-month period (Yet to be finalized, commencing May/June). The cost of the full program is only $150.00 (exclusive of GST).
For more information, download the full information brochure from www.hastingsbec.com.au/downloads/WIBRP.doc
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Didn’t I stir up a hornet’s nest last week by advocating the abolition of neck ties. Seems “the untied town” won’t be happening in PMQ for some time yet, judging from the brickbats that came flying through my email (when it was still working). As Michael McQueen may have said, “what a very Builder Generation reaction”.
By the way, the translation of “fwiw u cn c hw hrd cmnc8tn cn b 4 bby bmrs w GYrs. GTG PAW” is “For what it’s worth, you can see how hard communication can be for baby boomers with Generation Y’ers. Got to go. Parents are watching.”
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Nomination form for The 2nd Customer Care Service Excellence Awards are available. Download the form from www.hastingsbec.com.au/downloads/ccnomin2008.pdf .
Please note that the invitations for the Awards Evening on Friday, 13th June 2008 will not be sent out until early May.
The closing date for the nominations is Friday, 2nd May 2008, so please don't be waiting for the invitation before you complete your nomination form. You could miss out!
Rachel Ross has had quite a bit of interest from many accredited businesses and she would like to encourage every single business to enter. This year there are 9 categories (4 more than last year), so there is a category suited to every business.
The nomination consists of 4 questions only and will not take up much of your time. So give your business the opportunity to shine and don't delay in entering your nomination. Start today!
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Date: Tuesday 29th April 2008 Time: 6.00pm for 6.30pm
Venue: Quality Resort Sails, Port
Cost: $10.00 per person
Drinks and savouries will be provided on the night
Non-members and guests are most welcome
For catering purposes please RSVP by 3:00pm Monday 28th April 2008
(02) 6583 4412 or Email: info@portchamber.com.au
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And that’s about it for this week.
In parting, prepare for another emerging bit of technology. Believe it or not, the image at the top of this post
can be scanned by the camera in most mobile phones, and the information contained is then stored in the phone as normal text and Internet links. The image contains my name, email address, phone number and business name. In other words, a business card. And it can be printed down to about 1 cm square and still be readable. The same square can contain more than 4,000 characters of information. If you’re interested in the possibilities, start at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_Code and marvel at the way our world is changing.
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