Portfolio Careers Turn Side Hustles into Full-Time Success!

Portfolio Careers Turn Side Hustles into Full-Time Success!

Have you considered giving up your full-time day job to pursue multiple side hustles? You’re not alone in your desire to pursue a portfolio career! The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that 2.5 million Australians embrace freelance or part-time work.

Portfolio career popularity can be attributed to several factors, including the unpredictable nature of traditional employment, rapid technological advancements, changing career expectations, the desire for autonomy, the pursuit of financial stability, and the quest for personal fulfilment.

So, a portfolio career might be perfect for you if you have a side hustle you love. This blog explores the different types of portfolio careers, their benefits, common challenges, solutions, and a guide on how to kick-start one of your own.

What is a Portfolio Career?

A portfolio career involves embracing multiple job roles, freelance projects, or business ventures simultaneously or sequentially instead of committing to a single full-time position with one company. This career type helps you diversify your skill set and generate multiple income streams, providing flexibility and varied work experiences.

Examples of portfolio careers:

  • A set designer who works as a film-set contractor also sells artwork online and teaches art at TAFE.
  • A writer who freelances for multiple publications, authors books and offers editing and proofreading services.
  • A graphic designer who sells graphic novels and works part-time at a private college.

 

“As traditional employment continues to evolve, the portfolio career has emerged as a viable and attractive option for many. It offers a unique blend of security through diversification and the freedom to pursue varied interests.” – Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn.

 

Types of Portfolio Careers

Many types of work make portfolio careers, including freelancing, part-time employment, entrepreneurship, and passive income sources. A combination of two or more is common, each offering its own rewards and challenges.

Freelancing

Freelancing is a type of self-employment in which individuals offer their services to clients on a project-based basis rather than working full-time for one employer. The benefits of freelancing include a flexible schedule, choice and variety of work, and the ability to set your own rates and work independently.

Part-time employment

Part-time employment involves working fewer hours than full-time (less than 35 hours per week). As a result, more time is available to take on other projects, hobbies, or side hustles.

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship involves creating and operating a business and scaling it to generate a profit. Its benefits are numerous, including financial rewards and complete autonomy.

Passive income

A passive income refers to income from investments, royalties, real estate, or other businesses that don’t require active participation. Its benefits include financial stability and growth with minimal ongoing effort.

 

Manage Project Quality

Benefits of a Portfolio Career

There are many benefits to a portfolio career, the most obvious being flexibility and personal fulfilment.

Financial Stability

When you embark on a portfolio career, you diversify your income sources, which reduces financial risk.

Flexibility

One of the most sought-after benefits of a portfolio career is the ability to manage your time and work on various projects at your convenience. This is especially advantageous for those with other life and family commitments.

Continuous Learning & Skill Development

When you work across multiple areas, you have the opportunity to develop new and more diverse skills. As a result, your professional and personal development is boosted significantly.

Personal Fulfillment

Most people with a portfolio career pursue their passions alongside a primary career. This personal fulfilment positively impacts all areas of life and reduces the risk of occupational burnout.

 

Challenges and Solutions

Of course, while portfolio careers have many benefits, they also have challenges that must be overcome to succeed. You must be an organised risk-taker who prioritises self-care and continuous learning.

Time Management

When you juggle multiple responsibilities, you must be a time-management pro. If you need help in this department, our Certificate of Project Time and Cost Management will provide the strategies you need to succeed.

Income Variability

As a part of a portfolio career, you’ll need to become comfortable with inconsistent earnings. So, budgeting and creating an emergency fund will be crucial to your success.

Work-Life Balance

While portfolio careers encourage professional and personal fulfilment, there is always the potential for burnout when you take on multiple projects. Ensure you become an expert at setting boundaries and prioritising self-care to protect your work-life balance.

How to Establish a Portfolio Career – 7 Steps

So, you might wonder, how do you create a portfolio career? It’s not as complicated as it sounds, but it will require honest self-assessment, goal setting, networking, self-promotion, careful financial planning, and legal considerations.

  1. Self-Assessment

The first step in establishing a portfolio career is identifying your skills, passions, and the demand for your skills, products, or services in the market. Do your research to ensure your success early in the process.

  1. Goal Setting

Next, it’s crucial to define your short-term and long-term goals carefully. Have you heard of SMART goals? Smart goals will considerably increase your chances of achieving the goal successfully. So, make sure you’re using the SMART goal strategy.

  1. Networking

You must also build a network of contacts in different industries to support your business interests. If you need to expand your network, start by attending industry events and contact colleagues who can introduce you to potential clients or mentors.

  1. Marketing Yourself

Marketing yourself is essential to establish yourself as an expert in your field. Create a personal brand and online presence to maximise your chances of success.

  1. Legal and Financial Considerations

When you embark on a portfolio career, you’ll need to quickly get up to speed on the tax implications, contracts, and other legalities.

  1. Managing Multiple Income Streams

Tracking income and expenses can become complicated when managing multiple income streams. Take advantage of tools and apps that help you with financial management.

  1. Regular Review

Periodically assessing and adjusting your portfolio to meet your goals is vital to ensure the longevity of your career.

 

“The rise of portfolio careers in Australia signals a shift towards greater flexibility and autonomy in the workforce. As more Australians seek to balance roles, they are redefining traditional career paths and embracing new opportunities for personal and professional growth.” – Professor John Buchanan, University of Sydney Business School.

 

If you’re interested in a portfolio career, you’re one of many who find diversifying their income stream and pursuing personal fulfilment attractive. It’s a smart career move, which protects against financial uncertainty and increases opportunities for continuous learning.

Can we help you find your new direction? If you’re interested in pursuing professional development opportunities, contact one of our friendly Course Consultants today at 1300 762 221 or via Live Chat.

Discover the Purpose of a Business Plan and Kick Goals!

The purpose of a business plan is to give organisations direction and define their objectives, giving them the best chance of success. Ideal for business managers, administrators or owners, this course will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the essentials of business planning.

Our Business Planning For Success will give valuable insights into legal and administrative requirements, how to set goals and objectives, the importance of a business name, and strategies for coping with growth and business risk. You will also explore financial planning, marketing, HR and operations and how various business analysis tools can help you define and achieve key business goals.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking a course giving insights into the purpose of a business plan include:

  • Learning about business plans and objectives
  • Exploring strategic planning and documenting the strategy
  • Gaining an understanding of operational planning and documenting the operational plan
  • Studying the key components of the business plan
  • Examining action plans
  • Understanding the RACI matrix
  • Attaining knowledge of focus and direction and planning for direction
  • Gaining insights into examples of vision statements and a mission statement
  • Learning about SMART objectives and a SWOT analysis
  • Exploring strategic planning
  • Gaining an understanding of legal and administrative requirements
  • Studying how to determine the most appropriate legal structure
  • Examining the types of business ownership
  • Understanding sole traders, partnerships and the deed of partnership
  • Attaining knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of partnerships
  • Gaining insights into companies and the memorandum of association
  • Learning about proprietary limited companies (PTY LTD) and Private LTD companies
  • Exploring trusts and business name
  • Gaining an understanding of taxation
  • Studying other compulsory taxes/insurance following Australian legislation
  • Examining regulations, licences and permits
  • Understanding how to develop objectives, goals and strategies
  • Attaining knowledge of SWOT analysis, Pestle analysis and Gap analysis
  • Gaining insights into the connection between strategy and objectives
  • Learning about the process of strategising
  • Exploring responsibilities, tasks and timeline
  • Gaining an understanding of gathering information about the business and its market-place
  • Studying corporate objectives and developing strategic policy
  • Gaining an understanding of risk management and contingencies
  • Studying risks to consider, insurance and risk analysis
  • Examining how to identify threats to the business, including estimating risk, managing risk and reviewing risk
  • Understanding simple contingency plans
  • Attaining knowledge of systems, quality management and benchmarking
  • Gaining insights into innovation and protecting your business
  • Learning about information technology and systems control
  • Exploring marketing plans, what is marketing and the marketing process
  • Gaining an understanding of market research, the marketing mix, and product, price, place and promotion
  • Studying where the marketing mix fits into marketing planning
  • Examining a strategic response through the marketing mix
  • Understanding market analysis and military-inspired strategies for marketing and sales
  • Attaining knowledge of the internet and social media
  • Gaining insights into operation plans and the factors that need to be considered
  • Learning about fast-tracking to an operating plan and strategy
  • Exploring how to develop a business strategy

And more!

Business Analysis Tools

The purpose of a business plan is to help a business define their objectives, map out how goals will be achieved, manage issues and give the business direction. A range of business analysis tools can help businesses succeed and grow, and here are three of the most popular ones used.

SWOT analysis

A SWOT analysis assesses the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of a business. It can help to create or fine-tune a business strategy and prioritise areas for business goals to be achieved.

Strengths are positive factors within your control. For example, significant capital, proprietary property and management knowledge. Weaknesses are negative factors within your control. For example, a poor reputation, high debt and an unclear value proposition. Opportunities are positive factors out of your control. For example, an increasing market gap, an emerging need for products and lowered export tax. Threats are negative factors out of your control. For example, new government regulations, negative media coverage and new competitors.

Here are some helpful questions to ask if you are undertaking a SWOT analysis.
  • What does the business do well? What can it do better than its competitors? What positive aspects of the business give it a competitive advantage? What unique assets does it have (ie. knowledge, background, reputation, skills, customers, technology, capital?)
  • What doesn’t the business do well? What and where can the business improve? What do competitors do better? Can business processes be improved? What are the gaps in the company’s assets and resources?
  • What are the biggest possibilities for the business? What trends can it use to its advantage? Do the public like the business? Has anything changed in the market that could create opportunity? Are there events or changes that could positively impact the business?
  • What could potentially harm the business? What factors beyond the business’ control could place it at risk? Are its material supplies and resources insecure or unstable? What potential competitors could enter the market? Are there any events or changes that could negatively affect the business?

Pestle analysis

P.E.S.T.L.E stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental factors. This tool is used to gain a “macro” picture of an industry environment, and it can help identify risk factors for a SWOT analysis.

  • Political factors: relate to influences over industry or the economy and government controls. They can include trade tariffs, tax, conflicts and fiscal policies.
  • Economic factors: have a direct impact on a company’s long-term prospects in its market. It can influence the supply-and-demand model and affect how a company prices their products. They can include disposable income, inflation rates, interest rates, unemployment rates, economic growth patterns and foreign exchange rates.
  • Social factors: can impact businesses by influencing purchasing habits, lifestyle choices and peak buying periods. They can include health, religion and ethics, media, demographics, education, opinions and attitudes, brand preferences and consumer buying patterns.
  • Technological factors: can have a direct or indirect influence on an industry. They can include automation, patents, licensing, IT, technological development and awareness, communication, and research and development.
  • Legal factors: may affect the internal and external environment of a business and can control safety, employment and regulations. They can include consumer protection, employment laws, regulatory bodies, and environmental and industry-specific regulations.
  • Environmental factors: include factors relating to the physical environment and general environmental protection requirements. They can include climate, weather, global climate change, geographical location, environmental offsets and stakeholder and consumer values.

Gap analysis

Also known as a “needs analysis”, a gap analysis compares your business performance with your desired performance to see what’s missing. It is a valuable tool to leverage in terms of the purpose of a business plan. It can be used during strategic planning, when performance issues are encountered, or when stakeholders need additional context.

Some areas where a gap analysis can assist include:
  • Technology: can highlight a wide range of issues from missing technological capability to incompatible systems.
  • Project management: during the project planning or review stages, it can highlight areas that aren’t up to speed with the project as a whole.
  • HR: during the hiring process, it can show you what is lacking on a team and help you define the factors needed in new candidates.
  • Marketing: can help boost customer satisfaction by looking for industry gaps and then strategising ways that a business can fill them.
The four steps involved in a gap analysis include:
  1. Defining a business’ goals using goal-setting methodology, which can include using objectives and key results (OKRs) or key performance indicators (KPIs). Regardless of which methodology you use, goals should be M.A.R.T – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound.
  2. Benchmark current business performance using historical data, goals and past gap analyses to set the standard for how you work.
  3. Analyse gap data. These are tactics and strategies to close the gap. This is an ideal time to meet with stakeholders to brainstorm strategic planning initiatives to achieve your goals.
  4. Compile an action plan. Once goals are solidified, an action plan can clearly dictate how the business will close the gap. Data is essential here — including qualitative data (like current processes and process improvement strategies) and quantitative data (like benchmark data referred to in step 2).

Gain the knowledge and skills to understand the purpose of a business plan and write one that’s comprehensive and successful with a Certificate of Business Planning.

Joining the Booming Gig Economy – 5 Tips to Success! 

It’s the latest trend in an evolving workforce where individuals seek employment on their own terms. It is known as the “gig economy” and it’s here to stay! But what is it exactly, what kind of jobs are involved and how can you be part of this booming industry?

According to the Macquarie dictionary, the gig economy is “individual workers … employed on a contract to do a particular task for a set time with little connection to their employer”. People work in the gig economy for a variety of reasons and in a variety of ways. Some people work in the gig economy as their main source of income. Others work in it occasionally to supplement their income when moving between careers, jobs or as a transition into retirement.

Why is the gig economy so popular?

Participation in the gig economy has grown rapidly over the past few years, particularly with the challenges of COVID-19. The gig economy has transformed the traditional, in-office 9-5 working world and caused many to pursue “gig” work for additional (or even primary) income.

Employment figures are also a factor, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics reporting that in April 2020, underemployment hit a record high of 13.8 per cent, and in June of that year, unemployment hit a record high of 7.5 per cent — the highest level in over 20 years. For many, the gig economy was, and still is, a way of keeping money trickling in.

The gig economy can offer individuals flexibility and convenience. It gives individuals the opportunity to work when and how often they want, and to balance work with personal commitments such as hobbies, study and family responsibilities.

What work options do I have in the gig economy?

Examples of “giggers” include project-based workers, independent contractors, freelancers, sole traders and people hired temporarily or part-time.

But perhaps one of the biggest draw-cards of the gig economy is the breadth of variety in terms of the industries you can work in. You can specialise in anything from graphic design, E-commerce, copywriting and bookkeeping to childcare, beauty, gardening and even dog grooming! And that’s just the start! Many giggers also run their own ridesharing, delivery, tutoring, administration, marketing or project management businesses.

How can I join the gig economy?

There is a wealth of advice readily available on how to join the gig economy, including at the national and state government levels. But here are five of our top tips.

#1 – Register for an ABN

If you want to be part of the gig economy in terms of starting your own business and being paid for your goods or services, you will need to register for an ABN (Australian Business Number) to legally operate.

This is a unique number that the Australian Business Register issues to all businesses. It identifies your business to the government and community and to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) when dealing with your tax obligations. If you earn more than $75,000 per annum, you must also register for the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which requires an ABN.

#2 – Market your brand

If you want to join the gig economy, marketing and advertising your brand and business is critical. A good place to start is by researching problems, trends, demographics and other observations within your target market. Then, take a close look at your business and see how you can set up smaller marketing tasks. Here are some examples:

  • Reach out to current business connections and ask friends, family and past colleagues to reach out to their co-workers and connections. Referral discounts or free services or consultations are incredibly valuable here.
  • This can include digital networking, joining online forums, attending conferences and industry events, and actively engaging with other businesses via platforms such as LinkedIn.
  • Create a website. There are a range of easy-to-use website creation tools out there that you can experiment with. You’ll also need a domain name, URL and a web hosting company that will help get your website “live”. You can find out more here.
  • Advertising takes many forms, and the platform you choose will depend on your target audience, your budget and what is appropriate for your particular product or service. Traditional advertising platforms include newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, phone directories, outdoor, direct mail and electronic direct mail. However, advertising online via websites, digital marketing, Google My Business and social media (like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter) is one of the most powerful and cost-effective ways to attract new customers.

#3 – Be insured

Another important element to consider if you are keen to join the gig economy is insurance, particularly if you are a sole trader. A sole trader is classified as “someone who owns and operates a business in their own name”. The different types of insurance include:

  • Public liability insurance. This is required for all sole traders and covers accidents, damage to third-party property, or bodily injuries resulting from services that you provide.
  • Third-party personal injury insurance. This is typically required for sole traders who operate a vehicle as part of their job.
  • Worker’s compensation insurance. Although not necessarily required, it might be worth considering if you plan on hiring subcontractors or other freelancers to work with you on your business, as it will help you provide compensation for any injuries they incur while on the job.
  • Professional indemnity insurance. If you provide advice or professional services, this kind of insurance protects you and your business against claims of errors and negligence.
  • Insurance for equipment. Many creative professionals use expensive equipment. Insurance is important to help you get reimbursed for stolen, lost or damaged gear. Additionally, you can purchase electronic equipment insurance to protect things like your laptop or computer from damage or theft.
  • Technology and cybercrime insurance. If you operate much of your business online, cybercrime insurance can give you financial protection from scamming, hacking and other technological disruptions.

#4 – Consider your super

If you are considered to be a sole trader or self-employed by the Australian Tax Office (ATO), obviously, super payments won’t be contributed on your behalf by an employer. However, any super you pay will be your choice rather than a legal requirement.

The benefits of contributing to super include:

  • You will be saving for your retirement.
  • You may be able to claim a tax deduction for personal super contributions.
  • Super contributions are taxed at 15 per cent, so you may save tax depending on your situation.
  • Super investments usually get better returns than bank savings accounts, so your savings will grow faster.

#5 – Get financial help

Between managing customers and clients, sending invoices, marketing your products or services and actually working, finding time to undertake your own administration and finances can be challenging. If you work for yourself as a contractor, freelancer or sole trader, engaging the services of a professional accountant can help with:

  • Saving you time. Transferring the financial upkeep of a business to a professional will allow you to continue what you do best — working! It will alleviate your having to research complicated tax rules and lodging tax returns and Business Activity Statements (BAS).
  • Saving you money. Experienced accountants can advise you on which of your business expenses are necessary, those that may help minimise unexpected tax obligations, and help you claim potential deductions on business expenses.

Learn Top Tips For Starting a New Business

Ideal for entrepreneurs and those who are thinking about starting a new business, our Develop New Business Ventures course will give you insights into planning and developing a new business venture for an existing organisation or for a business generating self-employment.

In this course, you will explore how to investigate new business opportunities by analysing new trends and market information, and gather essential data and source information that supports business concepts and ideas.

You will also discover how to develop and present professional business proposals, communicate risks to stakeholders, and understand standards, legislation, policies, procedures, codes of practice and resource and financial requirements.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking a course in starting a new business course include:

  • Learning how to investigate business opportunities and analyse market information for potential opportunities
  • Exploring business ideas and concepts and how to gather data and source information
  • Gaining an understanding of how ideas might be influenced or limited
  • Studying features and benefits, product mix and organisational capability
  • Examining record maintenance and financial, business, technical and digital technology skills
  • Understanding how to identify market segments and market trends and developments
  • Attaining knowledge of ethical and cultural requirements and factors impacting business opportunities
  • Gaining insights into needs, factors and potential impacts
  • Learning about promotional activities and campaigns
  • Exploring personal motivations and aspirations and how to identify personal strengths and weaknesses
  • Gaining an understanding of the criteria that determines the viability of a business opportunity
  • Learning how to undertake a SWOT analysis
  • Exploring how to develop and present business proposals
  • Gaining an understanding of business opportunities and the factors influencing business financial viability
  • Studying how to record evaluations, the risks associated with business and the key risk categories
  • Examining risk management systems, planning and assessment and how to communicate risk to stakeholders
  • Understanding the four strategies for risk management
  • Attaining knowledge of proposal audiences, presentation methods and how to deliver a business description/ proposal
  • Gaining insights into cash flow and reports
  • Learning about feedback and standards, legislation, codes of practice and policy and procedures
  • Exploring how to organise finances for new business ventures
  • Gaining an understanding of available funds and commitments, equity finance, business mix and start up and running costs
  • Studying how to estimate income and calculate income based on price per unit and on an hourly charge-out rate
  • Examining how to estimate costs and the first year’s expenses and income
  • Understanding how cash flow works, how to prepare a cash flow budget and project cash flow
  • Attaining knowledge of finance sources, how to seek financial advice, debt financing, leasing and hiring and grants and subsidies
  • Gaining insights into gifts and bootstrapping, how to access finance, refinancing and how to apply for a business loan
  • Learning about accounting software, sales and marketing, how to have a finance focus and workplace procedures
  • Exploring how to determine the resource requirements for new business ventures
  • Gaining an understanding of business venture profiles, the required personnel, employees and business advisors/consultants
  • Gaining an understanding of how to undertake a cost benefit analysis, the type and quantity of resources required and the methods of acquiring resources
  • Studying the risk, cost and ease of access to services and support
  • Examining how to professionally engage with suppliers and key people, negotiate arranges and the systems and procedures for resources
  • Understanding resource storage and use of resources and the installation of equipment, machinery and software
  • Attaining knowledge of repairs, maintenance and replacement
  • Gaining insights into human resources

And more…

Developing a New Product

Part of developing a new business venture or starting a new business often involves developing new products … and that means you need to develop a plan! It will help you identify the timeline and process to design, create and build your product. A well thought-out product development plan will help you avoid wasting money, time and business resources. It will also:

  • help you organise your product planning and research
  • understand your customers’ expectations and views
  • accurately plan and resource your project

Your plan will also help you avoid:

  • misreading and overestimating your target market
  • launching a poorly designed product or a product that doesn’t meet the needs of your target customers
  • incorrectly pricing your product/s
  • spending resources you don’t have on higher than anticipated development costs
  • exposing your business to risks and threats from unexpected competition

There are six key steps to start developing your plan:

  1. Research your idea — this involves a thorough business analysis that involves defining or describing your idea and identifying your target market.
  2. Build or make and test your prototype — this involves thorough testing, misusing it to find any faults and listening to your target market so you can improve your product as you go.
  3. Write a marketing strategy plan — once your product is in place, you should then figure out a strategy to market it to customers. This will direct your product launch and make the most of opportunities to promote your product or business.
  4. Launch your product — deciding how, when and where to launch your product will determine its impact on the market. Launches help you showcase your new product to potential customers and builds momentum and anticipation.
  5. Keep reviewing your product — once you’ve launched your product, it’s important to keep innovating so that you are ahead of other businesses and products. It will also help you anticipate changes to your market, customers and competition.
  6. Protect your idea — once you’ve development and refined your product, you should get the correct intellectual property(IP) to protect your idea. Automatic protection is given to confidential information, trade secrets, copyrights and circuit layout rights.

Research and Innovation

Innovation means coming up with new ways to do things enabling you to change processes or create more effective ideas and products. It can also help you save money and time and is key to your business developing a competitive advantage and creating a culture of problem solving and innovative thinking. It’s worth noting that your business can be innovative without actually inventing something new. Innovation can be experimenting with marketing, changing your business model, or adapting to changes in the environment to deliver better services or products.

If you are starting a new business, here are some resources to help you be more innovative:

Marketing Your Product

Marketing your product well will help you reach your customers, get online and stand out from your competitors. It involves:

Business Marketing

Business marketing can help your business reach its target audience, attract new customers and ultimately increase your profit. Good marketing tells a story about your business and gives your customers a reason to purchase from you rather than your competitors. And writing a marketing plan can help you define certain aspects of your business and focus on your priorities.

Identify Your Target Market

Identifying and understanding your customers is an essential part of your marketing plan and your business. Not everyone is a potential customer, so it’s important to have a clear understanding of your target market early on. It will also help you analyse your market and define your customer segments.

Research Your Market

Market research is a valuable tool for all businesses. It can help you to understand potential customers, competitors, products or services, suppliers, business location and your local area and industry and market trends. The Australian Bureau of Statistics is Australia’s official statistical agency and provides a wide range of social and economic statistics.

Develop Your Marketing Plan

Writing a marketing plan can help you define your marketing strategy and identify the best channels and activities to market your services or products. It can also help you to:

  • identify your target market and how your product or service can benefit it
  • identify how you might attract new customers
  • encourage your existing customers to continue purchasing your product or service
  • set goals and time frames for your marketing activities
  • map out a strategy to reach your target audience, including the messages, channels and tools you’ll use
  • evaluate your marketing activities
  • provide a marketing budget and see your return on investment.

Market Your Business

Thinking about all your business activities can help you to position your business, and your products or services in the market. The five Ps of marketing (product, price, promotion, place and people) can help build your business brand and target your customers’ needs.

Advertise Your Business

Advertising is a marketing activity that can help you to reach out to potential customers and encourage them to buy your products or services. An effective advertising campaign can help you to:

  • increase customer reach
  • build customer awareness of your business and brand
  • promote the benefits of your products or services
  • communicate information about your business
  • increase sales and demand
  • gain an advantage over your competitors.

Tools and Software to Market Your Business

Marketing tools and platforms can help you conduct your retailing and online promotion. By streamlining how you deliver targeted messages to your customer, they can help you achieve your business goals, and the type of tool and platform will depend on what you want to achieve. They can also help you:

  • retain customers
  • keep customers and clients up to date
  • track your customers’ purchasing behaviours
  • personalise messages to your customers.

 

Gain the skills and knowledge required to plan, present and implement new business ventures confidently with a course on starting a new business such as our Develop New Business Ventures course.

Personal Training Course ­- Build Your Brand!

Enhance your personal training business and remain relevant in the highly competitive fitness industry. This personal training course is ideal for anyone who wants to build their business brand and grow their client list.

Our Certificate of Personal Training Professional Practice is an online professional development program that will help you build and sustain a profitable and successful business as a personal trainer.

You’ll learn about the qualities of a successful personal trainer, how to develop customised fitness programs and plans, create a brand, attract and retain clients, manage client departures, terminate difficult clients and more.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking a personal training course include:

  • Personal training professionals – role and qualities of a personal trainer
  • Purpose of personal training
  • Medical approval for exercise
  • Barriers to exercise
  • Major benefits of personal training
  • Daily work and responsibilities of personal trainers
  • Desirable character traits of the personal trainer
  • Core services on offer
  • A personal trainer and their role in motivation
  • Level of concern or tension (good stress)
  • Success – areas clients should focus on to improve training outcomes
  • Knowledge of results
  • Education or training the professionals
  • Basic components of physical fitness
  • The human body
  • Energy production
  • Energy and exercise
  • Considerations for effective business
  • Common types of personal trainers
  • Business basics
  • Expanding your services into other areas
  • Brand a personal training business
  • Develop fitness plans and programs according to client needs
  • Specialised services
  • Working with new clients – meet and greet
  • Pre-screening
  • Anthropometric measurements
  • Summarise what you know about the client
  • Taking baseline measures & assessing progress
  • The role of exercise in weight control
  • Calculating ideal body weight
  • Human movement & types of fitness programs
  • Working with older adults
  • Instructing young people
  • Over-exercising
  • Other exercise considerations
  • Ending the trainer-client relationship
  • Difficult clients
  • Manage client departures and terminate difficult clients.
  • Finding new clients

Why Become a Personal Trainer?

Before you decide to study a personal training course, it’s beneficial to consider why you want to be a personal trainer. Do you have a passion for fitness? Do you love helping people to achieve their goals and make their lives more fulfilling?

Help people be their healthiest

The satisfaction that comes from making a real difference to people’s health and wellbeing is up there as the top reason to work as a personal trainer. You get to see your clients become the best version of themselves – gaining more energy, self-esteem, and motivation to enjoy life to the fullest.

Diverse career opportunities

The career opportunities are vast for personal trainers. You might work in a gym, physical therapy practice, or from a beautiful park – or even from your own home. You can start your own business or work for organisations that require your services, such as residential aged care communities or corporate clients.

Earning potential – the sky’s the limit

If you start your own business, you set your own hours and hourly rate! So, the sky really is the limit when it comes to earning potential as a personal trainer. A personal training course is a sensible investment, as you’ll gain valuable insight into how to brand and market yourself professionally. And, who knows, you could be a personal trainer to celebrities! The sky’s the limit after all!

Become an expert

You can specialise in stress reduction, women’s health or mature-adult fitness and become an expert whose opinion is sought by the media. Personal trainers are experts in fitness, so they’re in demand when it comes to informing the public.

 

10 of the Biggest Fitness Trends This Year!

 

Wearable technology

Smartwatches and fitness trackers are huge trends in fitness and are a key part of Australia’s fitness culture. It’s now easier than ever to collect important health metrics, develop a healthy lifestyle, manage chronic diseases, enhance exercises to suit individuals! Basically, wearable technology is improving our quality of life.

Exercise as medicine

Confidence in prescribing exercise is on the rise, as it’s evident that movement hugely improves the health of people with long term health conditions – especially for those with sedentary lifestyles.

Mind and body training

The connection between physical and mental health is at the forefront of everyone’s mind, so fitness goals need to go beyond physical activity alone. People are looking towards mind-body exercises like yoga and Pilates now more than ever.

HIIT

High impact interval training is still a major trend in fitness and one that’s not going away any time soon. A major benefit of HIIT is that you can burn lots of calories in short bursts followed by rests with a combination of body weight, free weights, and cardio.

Corporate wellness

It’s likely that companies will focus on health and wellness to attract and retain staff going forward. Exercising regularly and managing stress has a significant impact on reducing absenteeism and increasing productivity in the workplace. Corporate wellness is a smart investment – and a personal training course can help you target this key market for your business’s success.

Hybrid fitness

Offering both remote and in-person fitness will be a trend that lingers long after the pandemic. So, if personal trainers want to thrive in future, it’s best to cover both bases as hybrid fitness options are here to stay.

Outdoor fitness

Now more than ever people are flocking to parks and green spaces to enjoy the freedom of being out of the house. Whether it’s an outdoor boot camp or morning yoga in the local park, people are embracing the outdoors.

Hyped up hygiene  

A personal training business will need to meet impeccable hygiene standards to meet consumers’ new awareness of how germs and diseases spread.

At-home workouts

Remote personal training will be a key trend moving forward. The flexibility and accessibility of virtual workouts have become increasingly popular, which has helped personal trainers maintain their client base through the pandemic. As a result, fitness studios and gyms that pivoted to virtual options have thrived.

What Are the Top 5 Qualities of a Personal Trainer?

 

  1. Passion for fitness

A personal trainer should be an avid fitness fan – and be in great shape themselves.

  1. Thirst for knowledge

Continuing education is vital for a successful personal trainer. After all, change is the key to growth and if you’re not growing and learning neither are your clients.

  1. Excellent communication skills

If a personal trainer hopes to succeed in the fitness business, they must know and understand their client. So, that means asking the right questions – and being an active listener.

  1. Personable

A personal trainer should have empathy and compassion for their clients in reaching fitness goals. It’s important to train, motivate, support, and encourage clients even if they’re not as committed as you would like.

  1. Flexible

Personal trainers need to adapt not only to different working environments but also to many different people and personalities. You need to be able to stay flexible in your approach to helping each client achieve their fitness goals – rigidity on exercise and nutrition could mean losing a client.

 

Enhance your personal training business and remain relevant in the highly competitive fitness industry with a personal training course like our Certificate of Personal Training Professional Practice.

Go Global With Our Short Business Courses

In this modern age of globalisation, decision-making skills that facilitate international expansion are highly valued. Ideal for small business owners and business advisors, analysts and managers, our short business courses, such as the Introduction to International Business will enable you to support the strategies, development and management of organisations on a worldwide scale.

Short business courses focusing on international business provide the fundamentals to interpret trends in Australian and international markets. You will learn about data collection and data sources, interpreting domestic and international trends, and the cultural impacts on buyer behaviour and business activity. You will also study analysis tools like SWOT and PEST, and gain the promotional skills to optimise the growth of products and services including online and via networking, trade fairs and conferences.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking short business courses include:

  • Exploring how to interpret and take advantage of trends in Australian and international markets
  • Studying the research process and how to analyse data from international markets
  • Gaining insights into data collection and data sources
  • Examining how trends impact international business activity
  • Understanding cultural impacts on business activity and culture and buyer behaviour
  • Exploring effective communication and trend analysis
  • Studying target markets and market segments
  • Gaining insights into time series analysis
  • Examining measures of central tendency and dispersion
  • Understanding quantitive and qualitative data analysis and collection
  • Learning about SWOT analysis, the STEEP model and PEST diagrams
  • Exploring competitor comparison and profiling
  • Studying research reports, written report formats and marketing plans
  • Gaining insight into forecasting international markets and business needs
  • Examining competitors and how to gather and document marketing intelligence
  • Understanding commercial services and organisation vision and needs
  • Learning about international joint ventures
  • Exploring online marketing, core business strategies and forecasting
  • Studying core activities, customer base, values and directions
  • Gaining insights into business values and performance comparisons
  • Examining strengths, weaknesses and critical success factors
  • Understanding products and services and capabilities and resources
  • Learning about trends and developments, the research process and the use of search results
  • Exploring threats and opportunities
  • Studying advance warning of new products and services
  • Gaining insights into legal, ethical and environmental constraints
  • Examining time series forecasting techniques
  • Understanding how to forecast emerging international marketing needs
  • Learning how to promote products and services to international markets
  • Exploring promotions, promotional messages and promotional objectives
  • Studying the impact of culture

And more!


5 Trends That Will Change Business in 2020 and Beyond

When undertaking short business courses like our Introduction to International Business, you will study some of the trends in Australian and international markets. According to the Export Council of Australia, after years of slowing global growth and trade wars, the future is looking up for Australian companies that are keen to grow and expand. Here are five key trends they are forecasting.

#1 – New markets for trade

Despite concerns about growing protectionism, trade liberalisation is continuing. Australia now has trade pacts with most major Asian economies and is further strengthening its relations with key trading partners like the United  States.

This is great news for Australian businesses looking to go offshore or expand their international trade. For example, lower barriers to trade in parts of the world, including in Asia, will enable companies to diversify their customer bases and access the world’s fast-growing middle classes. Australian businesses can also potentially expect more trade pacts, notably with the European Union (EU) and potentially the United Kingdom.

 

#2 – Historically low interest rates

As central banks cut interest rates to counter soft economic growth, some companies are capitalising on the opportunity to make larger operating and capital investments. Many Australian businesses see interest rate fluctuations as the second biggest external influence on their growth prospects. Strong corporates will likely take advantage of low-interest rates to pull forward the investment needed to accelerate growth.

 

#3 – Evolving technologies

Machines are continuing to take over repetitive and mundane tasks as digitisation increases, which frees up employees to focus on higher-value work. Blockchain technologies can accelerate international transactions by enabling parties to process payments digitally instead of via paper-based letters of credit. This can reduce the time required to execute trade transactions from 10 days to less than 24 hours. The arrival of high-speed 5G mobile communications is also significant and will speed up merchandise production and distribution.

Other game-changers are robotics and the Internet of Things, which should both increase productivity and efficiency. It will also enable companies to optimise working capital and efficiency in terms of payments, as it will become even faster and more convenient to move money.

 

#4 – Focus on sustainability

Concern about sustainability and climate change will only gain ground in the future, especially given the bushfire crisis in Australia experienced in 2019/2020.

Today’s customers are more likely to do their research before buying in terms of whether a product has social or environmental impacts. As such, many organisations are feeling pressure to become more ethically and environmentally sustainable.

Companies will therefore need to adapt and review supply chains to enusre increasingly high standards of sustainability. This includes putting sustainability on their business agenda, engaging independent stakeholders with expertise, gaining access to high-quality internal reporting on performance, and understanding their carbon footprint.

 

#5 – Rising consumption

Increasing incomes and wealth are driving a remarkable rise in consumption, particularly in North Asia. In China, for example, the growth of its middle class has led to greater spending. Now the propensity of its young customers to spend more than save is helping diversify its economy. This offers a substantial opportunity for Australian trade.

It is estimated that by 2030, over fifty per cent of Chinese households are expected to become richer, which will give them a greater ability to spend. For Australian businesses looking at these markets, it is crucial to be aware of diverse consumer demographics, as well as preferences and behaviours.

 

SWOT and PEST Analyses

Analysis is a valuable tool in short business courses, including when studying international business. Two standardised methods used across the globe are SWOT and PEST analyses. But how do they differ?

SWOT Analysis

SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threat. It’s a term often used in business strategic planning to help identify internal and external factors affecting business. Strengths and weaknesses are internal to a business and are things that can be controlled. Opportunities and threats are external and are often out of an organisation’s control.

  • Strengths – a SWOT analysis will help you identify areas of your business that are performing well. These areas are your critical success factors and they give your business a competitive advantage.
  • Weaknesses – these are the characteristics that put your business at a disadvantage to others. A SWOT analysis can help you identify these characteristics and improve or minimise them before they become an issue.
  • Opportunities – these can be created by external factors, such as changes in the market and new consumer trends. A SWOT analysis can help you identify opportunities that your business could take advantage of.
  • Threats – these are external factors that could cause problems for your business, such as a new government policy or changes to the market. It can help you identify threats and ways to counteract them, depending on your organisation’s strengths and weaknesses.

Typically, more value can be gained from a SWOT analysis if it’s conducted with a specific question or objective in mind. For example, it can be used to decide if and how you can take advantage of a new business opportunity, respond to new trends, implement new technology or deal with changes to your competitors’ operations. It can also be used to address individual business issues like staffing issues, business culture and image, new product development, organisational structure, financial resources and operational efficiency.

PEST Analysis

A PEST analysis is a process for identifying the political, economic, social and technological factors that affect your supply chains – both locally and globally. It will give you a better understanding of the environment in which your business operates, and the external factors that may impact the production of your goods or services. You can also carry out a PEST analysis on the buyer, which will give you insights into their requirements and needs. These include:

  • Political factors include current and planned or future legislation, government policies, regulatory agencies, political change like elections, grants, funding and other initiatives, and local and international trading environments.
  • Economic factors include economic trends and growth, local interest, tax, exchange and inflation rates, trade cycles, international economic factors and industry trends.
  • Social factors include consumer and lifestyle trends, demographics, media opinions, ethical issues and major world or local events.
  • Technological factors include innovation, research and development, automation, the digital economy, telecommunications and technology incentives.

Gain foundational knowledge in international business to position a company for growth into global markets with short business courses such as our Introduction to International Business.

How to Start a Business Online

Do you want to know how to start a business online? There are lots of reasons to create your own online business. These include working at home, spending more time with your family and being your own boss! 

The problem is, too many of these businesses fail. These failures are usually because the business owners didn’t know how to run a business successfully. 

We have an extensive range of online courses to help you start a business online. Likely, you’ll only need a handful of these courses, but it’s the courses you select that can make the difference between success and failure. 

As a new business owner, you must have a thorough understanding of some of these topics and at least a working knowledge of others. Otherwise, you may depend on other people’s expertise and be unable to steer your own business to success. No-one, however, is expecting you to become an expert in all areas relating to your business! It’s just that being able to hold a conversation with other professionals on topics that are relevant to your business is a valuable asset that’s important for your business’s success. 

The most popular course topics for those starting their own business includes Bookkeeping and Accounting, Business and Management, and Information and Microsoft.

How to Start a Business Online – Bookkeeping and Accounting 

Bookkeeping and accounting might not be a topic you relish, but this knowledge can help you to make more responsible business decisions. 

We have a variety of online courses on how to start a business online that are in the Bookkeeping and Accounting category. Below is a brief description of the courses that may be useful if you’re starting your own business online.

Analyse Financial Reports and Budgets: Understanding key financial and accounting terms will help you understand how to budget and read financial reports. It also covers business planning, financial statements, balance sheets, profit and loss statements and much more.

Certificate of Accounts Payable and Receivable: Manage your business invoices and maintain accounts payable and accounts receivable like a pro! You’ll learn about processing payments to creditors and handling overdue customer accounts.

Certificate of Australian Taxation: Manage your business, including how to pay your taxes. This course provides the knowledge you need to maintain your business’s tax account records, as well as lodging your own business returns. 

Certificate of Bookkeeping: Focussing on the needs of small businesses, this course covers the fundamentals of bookkeeping, balance sheets, ledgers, profit and loss statements, cash payments and much more. It’s an important topic if you want to learn how to start a business online and be successful.

Certificate of Payroll: Knowing how to manage your business’s payroll activities is an essential skill for all small business owners. This course gives you the knowledge to set up and manage a payroll system, as well as processing payments for your employees.

Introduction to Business Activity Statements (BAS): This course gives you the skills to process your company’s BAS and GST, IAS (Instalment Activity Statements) and the completion of Activity Statements. Even though you might outsource this to a taxation expert, it’s still important for you to understand the process of these business requirements.

Manage Overdue Customer Accounts: Every business will likely have to deal with overdue customer accounts eventually. This course shows you how to manage this problem correctly. It covers debt collection processes and how to negotiate with customers to resolve the issue of overdue accounts.

How to Start a Business Online – Business and Management

These courses help you to set up and manage your business. They include lessons about office management, small business management and business administration. They should be on any inspiring business owner’s list of to-do courses!

Certificate of Small Business – Start-Up: This course helps you to decide if your business idea is viable by investigating and profiling the market. It also covers business management planning tools and strategies, business plans and more.

Certificate of Small Business Management: This course gives you a basic understanding of everything to do with managing your business. It includes managing a small team of employees, business planning and finances, marketing your business and all the relevant legal requirements.

Certificate of Business Administration: This course focuses on the skills required to manage the administration of your small business. Topics include customer service, managing priorities and meetings, implementing administrative systems, workplace policies and more.

How to Start a Business Online – Information and Microsoft

The following courses, while not crucial, are relevant for the future success of your business. These additional skills include setting up your eCommerce store, how to protect your business from cyber-hacking, and how to protect your company’s data.

Certificate of E-Commerce: Learn how to start your own website business by setting up and managing an eCommerce store. You’ll also learn how to optimise the potential of your website and how to manage your supply chain.

Certificate of Information Security: This course covers a variety of topics that keep your company’s data safe. These include backing up data, recovering from a disaster, business continuity, vulnerabilities in operating systems, and how to develop a security policy for your business.

At Australian Online Courses, we have many more courses on how to start a business online and manage the long term success of your business. You’ll learn how to analyse and achieve sales targets, B2B sales success, advertising, marketing and promotions, and the list goes on!

For more information on any of these courses, contact Australian Online Courses on 1300 76 2221 or send us an email enquiry.

Starting a Consulting Business – Tips

Starting a consulting business can be daunting, but becoming a business consultant in Australia is a growing and promising career path. However, possessing expertise in the field of business does not guarantee work as a consultant. It is crucial to understand that you may need to source your own clients or partner with larger companies that provide consulting services to secure work opportunities.

Working as a business consultant can be both lucrative and rewarding, but it may also mean working with multiple clients with varying needs. Therefore, before taking the plunge, you should consider several factors to ensure a successful career in this field.

Firstly, you must have a thorough understanding of the industry and the skills required to be a successful business consultant. Secondly, you should be aware of the competition and the demand for business consultants in your area. Thirdly, you should have a clear understanding of the services you will offer and the fees you will charge for your services.

Lastly, you need to have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, as you’ll be working with different clients and stakeholders, and you need to be able to effectively communicate your advice and recommendations to them.

Starting a consulting business requires carefully considering these factors to increase your confidence and your chances of success.

Legals

Depending on your area of specialisation and the types of consulting services you’ll be offering, there may be certain legal requirements you need to adhere to. These include choosing the right business structure — as a sole trader, partnership or company. Each has pros and cons that will affect the future operation of your business, including tax consequences.

You’ll need to apply for an ABN for tax purposes, and professional indemnity insurance is also recommended. This protects small businesses and covers legal claims that other third parties may make, such as a breach of duty or negligence.

Qualifications

Certain regulated industries may require formal qualifications; however, a Certificate of Business Consulting will establish your credibility and expertise with clients. It’s also worth applying for professional memberships and industry accreditations to keep up to date with developments in certain industries.

Company Structure

Once you’ve determined your business structure, you should also consider how you see your business expanding down the track. You may want to start small—with just you in a home-based office—and hire additional staff at a later date. If this is in your business plan, consider their tasks and where they will work.

For example, you may wish to hire another specialist or someone who can help out with admin so that you can concentrate on servicing your clients. You’ll also need to consider several key responsibilities as an employer when starting a consulting business.

Lifestyle

If you have formerly worked for a large organisation and are about to embark on starting a consultancy business solo, things will change! Running your own business means you will be responsible for everything from fixing internet issues to covering expenses, paying super and managing how and when you invoice for your services.

You also won’t receive income for time off work — so paid annual and sick leave won’t be an option. You’ll need to weigh up whether your lifestyle and personality can cope with these factors and learn to be disciplined and organised to effectively manage your workload.

Target Market

The best consulting services in the world are no good to anyone if there is no market for them, so understanding who will pay for your expertise is crucial. Are you looking to service individuals, large organisations, or global corporates? And how will this work logistically? If you want to service clients face-to-face, you’ll need to factor in travel expenses and confirm whether clients are willing to cover these costs.

Your Brand

The idea of branding your business can be intimidating. However, establishing it will solidify how your clients see you and form their opinion of your business. Your brand should also stand out from other consultancy services in terms of your unique selling proposition (USP).

Then, it’s all about finding the most effective ways to communicate your USP to prospective clients, i.e. marketing yourself! This can be done by an engaging website, a unique marketing campaign or a memorable social media feed — whatever will make your potential customers think of your services before your competitors.

Once established, you should also consider registering your business name to protect your brand (such as your logo and intellectual property).

Networking

Building and maintaining relationships with current and potential clients is essential to guaranteeing a consistent flow of work when starting a consulting business. However, networking is also vital to your success as a small business owner, regardless of the types of consulting services you provide. Professional networks will introduce you to various practices, give you new opportunities to learn and promote positive connections and collaboration.

Once your business grows and your reputation is solidified, contributing to thought leadership in your area of expertise (via article writing or blog posts, for example) can enhance your kudos even further.

Billing

Different types of consulting will require different rates, and determining these can be challenging. Charging too little will make it harder to make your business financially viable in the longer term, and charging too much may deter clients from working with you. Do your research on your competitors, compare ‘apples with apples,’ and base your rates around being competitive.

You will also need to factor in your expenses, including tax and super contributions. Invoicing terms should be agreed upon, including the timing of payments. If projects are lengthy, consider charging an upfront fee that is paid before work commences to cover your ongoing costs.

Small business consultants can help companies identify problems, recommend solutions, and ultimately cut costs and increase revenue in slowing economies. Business and management consultants are also employed in virtually every industry—either full-time or as freelance consultants—including the banking, mining, retail, logistics, healthcare, government, and media sectors.

Certificate of Business Consulting

Certificate of Business Consulting

Certificate of Business Consulting

If you’re starting a consulting business, our Certificate of Business Consulting will help you hone and market your expertise to prospective clients to leverage positive outcomes. You will study presenting, report writing, communication, and negotiating skills, as well as emotional intelligence and leadership. With Seek projecting job growth of over 24 per cent in the next five years (and a salary package of up to $120K!), now is the ideal time to consider a consultant career.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking consulting courses include:

  • Learning about professional practice for consultants
  • Exploring the pros and cons of being a consultant
  • Studying what’s needed to be a consultant and how to get started
  • Gaining an understanding of codes of conduct
  • Understanding the methods of entering business and deciding where to work
  • Studying how to plan a consultancy
  • Learning about equipment, start-up finance, and set-up costs
  • Exploring business structures
  • Gaining an understanding of insurance
  • Studying how to prepare a business plan and pro forma
  • Gaining insights into knowing what to charge
  • Understanding available work time and how to convince clients of your fee value
  • Learning how to set up your consultancy practice
  • Exploring how to find clients and market a consultancy practice
  • Studying how to establish a press kit, network and communicate
  • Gaining insights into keeping accounts and records
  • Understanding how to source documents
  • Learning how to handle timesheets and invoices
  • Exploring how to generate business and keep it
  • Studying how to use agents and brokers
  • Gaining insights into subcontracting other consultants and support services
  • Understanding how to gain references from clients and propagate referrals
  • Learning how to obtain references from clients
  • Exploring how to write tenders and articles
  • Studying how to close a deal
  • Gaining insights into leveraging successful client relationships and keeping clients
  • Understanding how to deal with clients who say no
  • Learning how to maintain your consultancy practice
  • Studying how to hire staff and expand your business
  • Gaining insights into creating passive income
  • Understanding how to work in a changing world

… and more!

The Most In-Demand Consultancy Skills

If you’re still considering what consultancy work is right for you, it’s worth remembering that the types of consulting careers for those with the right qualifications depend on the sector involved. However, these days, those with project management, financial modelling, data science and analysis, process improvement, and business transformation skills are becoming increasingly sought after. According to Business Insider magazine, here are the most commonly requested consultancy services in Australia by industry.

  • Large corporations – process improvement, project management, business transformation, financial modelling, and data science and analysis.
  • Aviation – Data science and analysis, due diligence and customer segmentation.
  • Banking – Project management, business transformation and process improvement.
  • Mining and metals – Project management, tendering, and procurement strategy.
  • Logistics and supply chain – Business analytics, process improvement and supply chain management.
  • Media – Marketing strategy, lead generation and data science and analysis.
  • Retail – Digital transformation, data science and analysis and IT project management.
  • Telco – Change management, Big Data and  e-Commerce
  • Healthcare – Process improvement, data science and analysis and project management.
  • Financial services – Change management, e-Commerce and due diligence.
  • Insurance – Change management, project management and business strategy.
  • Government – Big Data, digital transformation and process improvement.
  • Consumer goods – Process improvement, cost reduction and marketing strategy.

 

Starting a consulting business is exciting. With our Certificate of Business Consulting, you can confidently leverage your strategic know-how and help improve the financial and operational health of a wide range of businesses!

 

5 Common Small Business Mistakes – And, How to Avoid Them!

Did you know 40 per cent of small businesses will fail in the first three years?  It’s hardly surprising, considering the countless challenges faced by small business owners daily.

So, how can small business owners increase their chances of survival? As a small business owner, you’re probably time poor. So, we spoke to Mike Williams, a business valuation expert specialising in small business, to share his expertise on the most common small business mistakes and how to avoid them.

 

  1. Lack of consistent and regular management and business reporting such as profit and loss report, balance sheet, debtors list and weekly or monthly breakdown of sales and enquiries.
  • This is a mistake that creeps up on people – they don’t think there is an issue until there is no cash in the bank to pay bills or a debt has built up with the Australian Taxation Office.
  • Regular reporting may be a proverbial “pain in the butt”, but it helps alert you to issues as they develop.
  • Even if you are a sole operator, issuing reports to yourself and setting time aside to review them without interruption (it can be as simple as 30 minutes per week or one hour per month) is worth the effort to avoid financial shortfalls.
  • Set up your accounting software (whether Xero, QuickBooks or MYOB) to automatically pick up the business bank feed and reconcile every week. This means you can issue or print off reports regularly.
  • Alternatively, arrange for a bookkeeper to regularly reconcile your accounts and print off the reports for you.
  • Make sure the sales reports are not just a single line – show a breakdown by product or service category or preferably by a customer/client segment.  That way, you can pick trends as they develop and put in place corrective actions.

 

  1. Failing to incorporate and leverage technology effectively to streamline operations, reduce labour requirements and automate sales functions.
  • Find ways to automate the sales enquiry process, allow online ordering and payments or make bookings online.
  • Transmit key job details (for tradespeople going to jobs, such as an address, customer contact details, job requirements).
  • Automatically enter invoice and receipt details into accounting software.
  • Automate collection of customer feedback.

 

  1. Heavy reliance on key persons within the business.
  • Document the operations of the business in a manner that enables someone else to fill your role.
  • List out the key processes and procedures under the categories Sales, Marketing (different to Sales), Operations, Financial Management, Human Resource Management, Administration.
  • Then for each key process, write a procedure or set of instructions.  Where the Operations are highly technical, refer to any Operations Manual or other documents.
  • Train others in the documented procedures so that when others are away, the role can still be completed.
  • Make sure there is a structure to the roles in the business – who is expected to do what and by when.  Even for small two or three person businesses, this can mean when one person is down others can take their place.

 

  1. Failing to bring on new products or services or diversify into new market segments, relying on the same customers delivering the same products or services.
  • Always survey your customers or make notes of what your competitors are doing differently and explore if new products or services could fulfil unmet needs.
  • Map out the different markets that you service and consider if there are markets in related areas that you can service.
  • Can you service new geographical markets or add an “online” service?
  • Have a documented business plan that looks at the market trends over the next two to three years and document ideas and ways that you can add new products or services or enter new markets.
  • Regularly measure customer satisfaction and make sure the process is linked to any customer complaint handling procedure.  Record customer ideas in a central register and use this to develop new products or services or new markets.

 

  1. Develop a culture of learning, involvement and growth with employees to help drive a continuous growth mindset.
  • Have a training plan in place for staff and encourage development.
  • Regularly measure staff satisfaction. This can be as simple as getting staff to fill in a weekly or monthly ranking from one to 10 – how satisfied are they as an employee in the last week or month?
  • Add a comments section for ideas then include the ideas into any improvement plans for your business.
  • Regularly involve your staff in improvement projects and business planning.
  • Implement improvement ideas by involving key staff – if suited.
  • Regularly hold staff functions or just simple lunchtime BBQs or coffee sessions.

 

Small business ownership is equal parts challenging and rewarding, so make sure you face the challenges head-on by being informed on how to manage your small business effectively. The rewards will follow.

If your business is experiencing any skills gaps, consider a professional development course for yourself or your staff to safeguard the continued success of your small business.

Australian Online Courses offer many small business professional development courses that can help you to stay relevant in a highly competitive business climate.

When you study with Australian Online Courses, you have access to an eLearning platform that allows you to study where and when you choose. This self-paced learning environment will enable you to plan your study around work, life and family commitments.

Find your new direction today!

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