Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Coffee Time Minutes - 14th April 2010

Coffee Time – 14th April 2010

Welcome - Welcome to our new visitors.

Apologises - Karen, Tony, Rae, Kathy, Lynne, Dean, John D, Toni and John M

Who we are? Small and Home Business owners meeting to build relationships from other SBO’s.

What is CT? Relatively casual meeting group, where you can network, talk about business ideas and strategies, and learn from one another.

Where? Tuggerah’s Zenith Centre.

When? At 10.30 am on the 2nd & 4th Wednesdays of the month. Arrival 10.25 am for 10.30 am start. (Runs for about 1 hour)

Update on our Raffle?

The raffle is going around. This will go together with today’s collection to the Iris Foundation. So far this year we have raised $230.

Tickets will be $2 each, or three for $5. If you would like to donate a prize to the group for the raffle, please let me know. Other wise I will purchase from the collection of funds and will be worth up to the value of $10 each fortnight. All monies will be donated each month to the charity of choice.

Networking:
· Coffee Times: April the 14th and 28th.
· Coffee Times: May the 12th and 26th
· Wyong Chamber of Commerce Dinner Meeting – 27th
· Wyong Chamber of Commerce Networking after dark - May the 11th
· B2B Networking night – 13th May (Wyong Race Course)
· Central Coast Women’s Luncheon – April 22nd –(Mingara)

Expos:
· B2B Buy Local Festival on the 13th May at the Wyong Race Club for more details please contact Lyn Thompson
· BEC & DSDR Small Business Month in May – keep an eye out for what’s on.
· Central Coast Extravaganza Business Expo – 23rd June at Mingara

Education:

BEC courses evening courses
· Business Planning Part B – 24th March
· Networking – Bridging the Gap – 21st April
· Decision Making for Profit – 28th April
· Research Business Opportunities – 4th May

For more info contact the BEC on 4355 4885 or info@ccbec.org.au

Wins:

Christina – Played her first game of soccer in 13 years and got lady of the match
Toni – Son, Reece has just come back from the Academy of Sport for Golf
Rob – Brother has just successfully completed a double front flip on a bike; only 2 people in the world can do it. And he has got 13 shows in Australia for the Nitro Circus.


Who are you & what do you do: 30 Sec story about you

Tarnia Gurney: Gurney Financial Services www.gurneyfinancialservices.com.au
Planningwerx4U www.planningwerx4u.com.au

Lyn Thompson: LBH Promotions - Letter box distribution www.lbhpromotions.com.au
B2B - Marketing in Business Book & Networking www.b2b.com.au

Sue Liptrott: LBH Promotions & B2B with a twist

Moria Bayliss: Herbalist Moirabayliss@yahoo.com.au

Rob Buckworth: C4telecom Communications www.c4telecom.com.au

Christina Jones: Wiggle n Giggle www.wiggleandgigglemusic.com.au

Dayasagar Saraswati: Craniosacral Therapy, Yoga & Meditation dsaraswa@bigpond.net.au

John Bogiatzis: Universal Seminars www.universalseminars.com.au

Warren Garth: Cats accounting www.catax.com.au

Toni Oliver: Toni Oliver Conveyancing www.tonioliverconveyancing.com.au

Brija Mira: Sarah Bevan Family Lawyers www.sbfamilylawyers.com.au

Donna Llige: Ultra Print lakehaven@colourcopy.com.au

Michelle Allen Webstuff www.webstuff.com.au


Challenges in Business: This week we didn’t discuss any challenges in our businesses. Next time

Presentation: Today’s discussion is on Websites by Michelle Allen from Webstuff

Make sure your website is professional
Create a website that will hit your target market
Look at the colours you use, backgrounds and fonts
Make your website easy to move around
Your website needs to work 24hrs a day and 7 days a week. There are many people who look at websites in the early hours of the morning
Deliver information – make sure it is what you are promoting or selling
Online quotes and inquires
Have a contact form on your website so people can contact you
Have good copy – have your work checked and proof read – more and more people are looking for correct spelling and grammar in websites.
Have good type – font, words, sentences, and paragraphs
No mistakes – spell check everything
Get someone to check your website information fro mistakes and correct grammar
Point form is good for websites
People want easy to read and access information – can your website be easier to read and understand
People are looking for answers – put their solutions on your website
People want information easy and fast
Using pictures – use quality pictures, don’t upload your photos from your mobile phone – they are not professional and do not have good pixel or quality
It takes 5 seconds to convert someone who has clicked onto your website – capture them in the first 5 seconds
Look at your front page is it easy to read, enticing, do you have an offer or a link
Make it work for you and your business
Offers –
Free information
Online quote
Online information
Subscribe to our newsletter
Problem solving – ask a question? Do you need to update your…..
Offer something for free

Open Forum discussion:
· Look at who is managing your website
· Who owns your website
· Investigate in a copy reader/writer
· Look into search engine enhancers
· Google searches – make sure you have the correct words and codes
· If your website refers you to a phone number to call, make sure the person at the other end knows your business and what you are calling about. If it goes to a message bank, make sure you leave enough details so the person knows who they are calling and why.


Thanks everyone for sharing ideas, solutions and recommendations with everyone.

Thank you Michelle for sharing your knowledge with us all. I look forward to next time.

Raffle Drawn:

Prize donated from: Lyn Thompson – premier listing in the next B2B book
Amount collected this fortnight: $41
Today’s Winner – Daya
That is a total of $230 to be donated to the Iris Foundation the first quarter.

Have a wonderful fortnight. I am away next meeting but Dean will be running the meeting for me.

Thank you for coming along today. Feel free to network with your peers.

Our Next Meeting is on the 28th April. We will start at 10.30am sharp.

Our Next Presentation will be by Warren Garth.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Coffee Time Minutes 24th March 2010

Welcome

Welcome to our new visitors.

Apologises

Dean, John, Toni

Who we are?

Small and Home Business owners meeting to build relationships from other SBO’s.

What is CT?

Relatively casual meeting group, where you can network, talk about business ideas and strategies, and learn from one another.

Where?

Tuggerah’s Zenith Centre.

When?

At 10.30 am on the 2nd & 4th Wednesdays of the month. Arrival 10.25 am for 10.30 am start. (Runs for about 1 hour)

Raffle?

The raffle is going around. This will go together with today’s collection to the Iris Foundation. So far this year we have raised $230.

Tickets will be $2 each, or three for $5. If you would like to donate a prize to the group for the raffle, please let me know. Other wise I will purchase from the collection of funds and will be worth up to the value of $10 each fortnight. All monies will be donated each month to the charity of choice.

Update:

Steel Magnolias Luncheon – 250 people at Iguana Joes. It was a lovely day.

Youth Connections are looking for employers to have placements for teenagers to do their work experience. If you are interested in having a student comes out to your work for a week. Let me know and I will put you in touch with Sandra. Looking for support for May, June, August, October and November.

Iris foundation is having an event on Friday the 26th if you would like to go along, please contact Bev and Dawn.


Expos/Events:

· B2B Festival – Buy Local – Wyong Race Club, 13th May
· May 2010 – Home and Small Business Month
· CCWN Business Expo Extravaganza – Mingara 23rd June

Up Coming Networking:

· Coffee Times 14th And 28th April
· BNI is having an open day – for more info please see Hugh.

Education:

BEC courses evening courses
· Business Planning Part B – 24th March
· Networking – Bridging the Gap – 21st April
· Decision Making for Profit – 28th April
· Research Business Opportunities – 4th May

For more info contact the BEC on 4355 4885 or info@ccbec.org.au

Wins:

Christina and Darren have started Kindy Hire – Puppets and Music to preschools on the coast

Who are you & what do you do: 30 Sec story about you

Tarnia Gurney: Gurney Financial Services www.gurneyfinancialservices.com.au

Planningwerx4U www.planningwerx4u.com.au

Lyn Thompson: LBH Promotions - Letter box distribution www.lbhpromotions.com.au

B2B - Marketing in Business Book & Networking www.b2b.com.au

Dianne: LBH Promotions

Natalie Pye: C & N Freight. www.cnfreight.com

Jenny Abourizk: Job Centre Australia www.jobcentreaustralia.com.au

Ted O’Shannessy: Financial Freeway www.financialfreeway.com.au

Hugh Bowman: Bookkeeping Specialist hugh.bowman@iinet.net.au

Cheryl Greenwald: Marriage Celebrant, Email - cellie001@gmail.com

John Dosanjh: Coast Consulting www.cconsulting.com.au

Moria Bayliss: Herbalist Moirabayliss@yahoo.com.au

Toni Fountain: Insight Health – Chiropractor , Website still being built - toni_fountain@rslcom.net.au

Brian Maggs: Management Assistance Australia, Website still to be built – bmaggs@maagroup.com.au

Megan Roberts: Bell Bird Web Solutions www.bellbirdwebsolutions.com.au

Rob Buckworth: C4telecom Communications www.c4telecom.com.au

Christina Jones: Wiggle n Giggle www.wiggleandgigglemusic.com.au

Karen Teunissen: CRS Australia http://www.crsaustralia.gov.au

Kathy Bree: Coffee News Central Coast www.coffeenewscc.com.au

Tony Bourke: AIIB Insurance – Director of AIIB www.aiib.com.au

Melissa Cooper: Art of Intimacy, www.melcooper.com.au

Johanna Baker- Dowdell: Strawberry Communications www.strawberrycommunications.com.au

Dayasagar Saraswati: Craniosacral Therapy, Yoga & Meditation dsaraswa@bigpond.net.au

June Turner: Feng Shui – Designs & Lifestyles www.juneturner.com.au

Sue Wells: First Aid Express Aid expressfirstaid@yahoo.com.au

Daniel Greenwald: Dan Productions

Don: Strategic Planner and Business Planning

Challenges in Business:

This week we had:

Christina - had a challenge in relation to delivery and pick up of items for their business. Suggestions were made on:
Having set days for drop offs and pickups
Set areas
Look for casual drivers – maybe a home maker looking for some work in between school hrs
Make sure they have their own car, insurance

Lyn – to get more people involved in the buy local festival in May.
She asked us all to put out to our data bases and contacts.
Suggestions for promotion were to contact
Youth connections
University
BEC & DSRD
Both Wyong and Gosford Councils
Local Members

New work place laws
· Challenges on confidentiality agreements
· Awards
· 10 days personal leave now – includes sick, compassionate & family leave
· Insurance to protect businesses
· New rates for employees – hourly rates altered
· 4300 agreements/awards prior now approximately 150



Presentation:

Today’s discussion is an open forum on Computers, Back ups, Servers.

Back ups of computers should be done daily and weekly, holding records offsite
Some referrals for assistance were to Mick & Julie Goodwin in Gosford or Sam at I Com IT at Tuggerah
You can get an external hard drive from most computer stores. Have a look at getting a 1T back system
Insurance – you can insure your business and computers for theft, storm, and fire.
Insurance – put in place an insurance plan for if something happens. Where will you work form, how will you get your files or computer back or replaced.
Make sure you do regular backups from MYOB – each month to your back up system
Test your back ups – try and recover a file you have backed up
Telstra are bringing out a TSuite – back system
Google Docs has a back system
Make sure you defrag your computer weekly
Make sure you scan for viruses and clean out web browsers
Suggestions for back up on your computer to a USB or disc. Go to
Windows
Start
Accessories
Systems Tools
Back up
Set schedule
Back up to external drive – USB
Change each week
Keep back ups off site and should keep
1 month
2 months
3 months

Thanks everyone for sharing ideas, solutions and recommendations with everyone. I look forward to next time.

Raffle Drawn:

Prize donated from: Natalie and Craig Pye (Easter eggs)
Amount collected this fortnight: $38
Today’s Winner – 3 winners
That is a total of $230 to be donated to the Iris Foundation this quarter.

Have a wonderful Easter and Holiday time.

Thank you for coming along today. Feel free to network with your peers.

Our Next Meeting is on the 14th April. We will start at 10.30am sharp.

Our Next Presentation will be by Michelle Allen on websites.