Sparkling sunny greetings, Reader,
With thousands of visitors in the region for Ironman, it’s great to see the weather cooperating. Greater Port Macquarie looks fantastic in Autumn sunshine.
We’ve had a fantastic response from businesses for the Adopt An Athlete program. It’s been an interesting exercise, and provided a great opportunity to see businesses – many of them small and resource-poor – reaching out to help in a community building activity like this. By my count we have “adopted” out around 384 athletes – way surpassing previous years, and a wonderful engagement from the Port Macquarie business community. I hope you all gain a lot of pleasure from the experience. A big thank you to Robyn Dawson from Port Chamber who helped me with the foot-work to visit businesses.
A couple of the big banks are taking a bagging today in the media, and rightly so, for some pretty low behaviour associated with excessive and inappropriate loans. It’s only fair then to recognise that the banks are always among the first to volunteer their time and effort in response to just about any kind of community activity. I guess that’s a problem for large organisations. A few bad apples, or bad policies, can tarnish an image that many dedicated people work hard to establish and maintain. I’m proud to say that our BEC members in the banking industry have made a fantastic contribution to our Adopt An Athlete program, and I thank them for their help.
And I guess, in a round-about way that introduces the subject of ethics in business. We were provided, at a BEC breakfast about twelve months ago, with a very interesting talk on business ethics by a visiting Swiss academic, Dr Patrick Eichenberger. But it’s a subject that needs to be promoted from time to time, to ensure that ethical behaviour remains, as the marketing people put it, at the “front of mind”.
So, while you’re busy focusing on greenhouse gas minimisation, reducing your contribution to global warming, positioning your personal philosophy on China’s behaviour toward Tibet, and wondering why Kev Oh Sev is apparently not giving the Japanese a whale of a lot of attention (I worked hard for that pun!)… Do try to find a few neurones to devote to the concept of business ethics. It’s not rocket science. It boils down to “doing the right thing” – by your customers, your workmates, your suppliers and your business peers.
Enough of this philosophising, on with this weeks stuff:
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804C001 - Introduction to MYOB Thursdays Apr 10th to May 29th - 7 sessions 9 am – 12 noon, $250
804C002 - Word & Excel for Business Mondays Apr 28th to Jul 7th – 11 sessions 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm, $420
This Accredited course will provide participants with an excellent grounding in essential skills for the office using MS Word and MS Excel.
For small businesses, Lynda Hamilton is presenting a GST and BAS Short Course on Saturday March 15th, 9.30 am to 4.00 pm. Only $89
Book through the Community College on 6583 7288
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Next Hastings BEC Networking Breakfast is on Thursday morning 10th April
At Panthers Pier One Restaurant, 7.00 am till 8.30 am.
Sponsored by Paul McCarthy Advertising
This will be an interesting and entertaining event. Don’t miss it!
RSVP to admin@hastingsbec.com.au by cob Tuesday 8th April.
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I’m still receiving a trickle of HBEC membership renewals. Thank you to all renewing members, and a big welcome to another new Business Member, SKILLED labour hire and recruitment, from Broadmeadow NSW. Welcome aboard Kelli Sadler.
We still have a dozen or so currently unfinancial members and, in fairness to those who have renewed, I must send out a final invoice and reminder in the next week. Please don’t be offended, but we need your subscriptions to keep operating.
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Tim Atherton reports “We are still a little short on volunteers for the bike leg of the Ironman next Sunday.
We will take last minute volunteers up to Wednesday am and would love to get a few corporate groups
willing to make it a day out for their staff on the course.”
Please register your interest asap by emailing cdeagan@lism.catholic,edu.au
Ring me on the mobile 0434 660 896 if you have any queries.
Thanks
Tim Atherton
Coordinator-Development & Environmental Compliance, Port Macquarie-Hastings Council
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Helen Crossley is a former manager of Inverell BEC (so is obviously an excellent person!), and she is now honorary Co-ordinator for the Inner Wheel Australia National Conference to be held at Panthers in Port Macquarie in October this year. They are expecting around 600 people to attend the conference, and are seeking local businesses willing to promote themselves by providing jotters and pens for conference delegate’s “show bags”.
If your business would like to do a bit of pro-active marketing in this way, please contact Helen by email at crossley@ceinternet.com.au
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Don’t you just love those phone calls from people with sing-song “international” voices, just “checking your business details in our database”. Phone spam! Made possible by Voice Over IP technology that enables almost free international calls from cheap labour countries.
Try putting your telephone handset down in front of a radio tuned to a talk-back station. It can take the “international” caller quite a while to realise the voice is not yours.
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Great to see our Patron Member Digital Design & Poster Studio featured in this month’s Focus magazine. Adam and Geri provide wonderful service, as any of their rapidly growing clientele will attest. They have also launched a monthly newsletter and asked me to attach it to this email.
Sorry, Adam and Geri, but I don’t attach anything to this email in order to keep the bulk down in recipient’s inboxes.
Instead, I encourage all readers to download the Digital Design & Poster Studio newsletter from this link: www.hastingsbec.com.au/downloads/ddps1.pdf You may then choose to subscribe for monthly updates.
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Last week I included a few tips on how to engage and retain your valuable mature workers. Here are a few more tips provided by Kellon Beard from NSW Business Chamber:
- Ensure they know you care about them.
- Encourage a healthy work-life balance and flexible working arrangements – consider job share, part-time, telecommuting or working on short term assignments or individual projects.
- Offer where appropriate, the ability to only work only in high production or busy times, or where the work is less demanding in terms of physical, mental or responsibility demands.
- Consider ways to make your benefits package more attractive to this age group.
- Tap into their experience, knowledge and loyalty by getting them to act as mentors or coaches to less experienced staff; get them involved in your succession planning; and get them involved in cross generational training and teamwork.
- Explore innovative ways for these employees to be challenged and stimulated to avoid job boredom.
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Don’t forget Direction Accounting’s 2 1/2 hour event called Business Growth and Success this Wednesday April 2nd
We have now presented this seminar to over 300 local businesses teaching them ...
- The secrets of Growing ANY business
- How to create time away from their business
- How small changes to a number of key areas can literally turn the business into a success story
Download Registration Form NOW!
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Port Macquarie Athletics Club http://www.portmacquarieathletics.org/ are assisting the Iron Man competition on Sunday 6 April but are also hosting the 5K Fun Run on Saturday 5 April, Briefing at 7:20am,
This weekend opener is for all age groups and a great success in previous years. It runs along the sea wall and back to the Ironman village, even prizes for all age groups. Download the information from www.hastingsbec.com.au/downloads/asics5k.pdf (Caution: 1.2 Mb download)
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I just completed a weekend drive up to Ballina and back, for my Dad’s 92nd birthday (Happy Birthday again, Dad!). Regular readers will be familiar with my disdain for both Caravans and Camry’s on the northern Pacific goat-track. This time we saw the ultimate… a Camry towing a (very poorly loaded and unbalanced) caravan. Needless to say we gave the combination a VERY wide berth. Mind-bogglingly scary!
Until next week, go out of your way to welcome a visitor to Port this week. And enjoy Panthers Australian Ironman.
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