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.