Sunny warm greetings, Reader,
It has only taken two icy mornings in Canbrrrrra to remind me why I enjoy Port Macquarie so much. As I scraped a centimetre of ice off my windscreen before leaving yesterday, I experienced one of those wonderful moments of bliss, when I realised I made a good decision in sea-changing.
Of course Port is not perfect. But we also have an abundance of benefits including climate, environment and community. My admiration for the community spirit in Port is regularly refreshed when I hear of yet another contribution made by community or business groups for the betterment of our region. There are a lot of people putting enormous effort – mostly voluntary – into constantly improving our quality of life, and that greatly outweighs the occasional destruction or vandalism by the idiot fringe.
It appears that light may be brightening on the world financial horizon, and we may have seen the worst of the current crisis. Oil prices may have passed the peak, for the moment at least, and interest rates may rise no further. This has been a very difficult time for many local businesses and, sadly, a number have failed. The two words that stick in my mind are “planning” and “advice”. I am frequently amazed by the lack of planning that many business owners undertake. I’m also greatly surprised by the reluctance of many owners to seek expert advice. Yes, expert advice generally costs. But lack of advice can cost very much more.
We may, just may, have seen the worst of this crisis, but one thing is for certain. There will be crises in the future. Planning for crises – often called contingency planning – is fundamental to the running of any business. If your business doesn’t have a well-considered and documented contingency plan, then you know what you need to do.
Enough philosophising. Here is this week’s events and activities news:
+ = +
Port Macquarie Community College
Introduction to MYOB
BSBADM309A - Process accounts payable and receivable, Statement of Attainment from Certificate III in Business Administration BSB30201. Topics include: manage and set up your business or club accounts. Record sales and receivables, purchases and payables, invoices and payments, cheques and deposits. Basic computer skills are essential.
807C006 Mon Jul 28 to Sep 8 7 sessions 9am-12noon $250
Intermediate Excel Workshop
Take the next step with Excel. You will learn about absolute references, charts, more functions, linking and protecting worksheets.
807C008 Fri Jul 25 1 session 9am-3pm $90
NEW Excel Assessment
Do you possess Excel Skills but have no formal recognition for this? If you have done the Introduction and the Intermediate Excel classes with the College, or you have the equivalent skills then this two hour assessment class is for you. Successful participants will receive a Statement of Attainment BSBCMN214A - Create and use simple spreadsheets from Certificate II in Business BSB20101.
807C022 Thur Aug 24 1 session 6.15pm-8.15pm $95
MS Word Essentials
This class is ideal for expanding your skills and knowledge with MS Word. Topics covered will be saving documents, navigation, adjusting margins and layout, shortcuts, copy and move, search and replace, simple tables, autotext, mailmerge, printing and more.
808C003 Fri Aug 1 1 session 9am-3pm $90
Computer Skills for the Office
If you are seeking employment or returning to the workforce this course will provide an excellent grounding in essential skills for office administration. It will include a keyboarding speed test to Australian Standard AS2708-2001. Five units of competency: BSBCMN107A Operate a personal computer, BSBCMN108A Develop keyboard skills, BSBCMN213A Produce simple word processed documents, BSBCMN214A Create and use simple spreadsheets and ICAU1133A Send and receive information using web browsers and email. Statement of Attainment from Certificate II in Business BSB20101.
807C020 Tue Jul 22 to Nov 11 15 sessions 9:30am-12:30pm $520
Communicating with Customers
If you have contact with customers and want to explore your own interpersonal communication style and its impact on others, then this is the course for you. The dynamics of communication in the encounter between a customer or team member can be quite complex. This program focuses on customer service and examines the communication skills which help you to establish a relationship with your customer which is conducive to creating a happy and long lasting relationship. Communication processes like non-verbal communication, assertiveness, listening, questioning and feedback skills will be covered in this "hands-on" workshop.
808W002 Wed Aug 13 1 session 9am-4pm $98
TRAINING FOR THE WORKPLACE
Please ask the Community College about customised training for your workplace. Update the skills of your staff and management. We are happy to customise training for your needs at your premises or in our classrooms at a time to suit. Contact the Program Co-ordinator to discuss your needs.
+ = +
Hastings BEC Networking Breakfast – Thursday 14th August
Our next Networking Breakfast will be hosted by J&H Tours, and we look forward to a very special event.
Thursday morning, 14th August. 7.00 am till 8.30 am
Panthers Pier One Restaurant
Members and Guests welcome (Members $20, Guests $25)
RSVP to admin@hastingsbec.com.au
(We anticipate up to 100 participants, and we may be forced to restrict entry to those who have accepted in advance)
+ = +
Welcome to new Business Member Elders Real Estate Port Macquarie.
I’m very pleased to welcome Elders and Steve Newman to our membership. Already Leasa Harris and Ashley Allison have become regular BEC Breakfast faces, and we look forward to seeing more of the Elders team from time to time.
By the way, if you want really useful local weather information, try this link www.eldersweather.com.au/local.jsp?lt=aploc&lc=2626 Love it!
+ = +
Matt Howarth has provided the following announcement from Macquarie Southern Cross Media
“Macquarie Southern Cross Media (MSC) is Australia’s leading regionally focused media provider, reaching a potential audience of approximately 7.5 million people which equates to 95% of Australia’s population outside the mainland State capital cities.
MSC is the result of Macquarie Media Group’s acquisition of Southern Cross Broadcasting in early November 2007. On a local level, the new company structure for MSC incorporates 2MC FM; StarFM and Southern Cross Ten.
MSC is committed to providing quality entertainment, news and information to our viewers and listeners in the communities we serve. MSC is able to offer our customers unparalleled reach to their consumers in regional Australia, through prime time television during the day and evening reinforced by a call to action over radio in the morning and throughout the day.”
I’m delighted to have 2MC, StarFM and Southern Cross TEN with us separately as BEC Members. From the start of 2009, we hope to consolidate Macquarie Southern Cross Media into a single higher-level membership.
+ = +
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
21 July 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment