SMEs are increasingly seeking to get certified to meet regulatory or client requirements, and as a source of competitive advantage.Continue Reading

Earning an ESG rating for your business demonstrates your company’s commitment to environmental and sustainability goals. An ESG rating can enhance your reputation, create savings, and help secure business.Continue Reading

On 1 January 2020, Stuart Carr scribbled a note to himself: “Welcome to 2020 – a year of transformation”. The changes he envisioned weren’t the changes the year threw up, but nevertheless the note was prophetic.Continue Reading

There are many reasons why an auditor might visit your business premises. For instance, you might be trying to gain ISO 9001 certification for your quality management system. You may need FSC Chain of Custody accreditation to demonstrate your use of responsibly-managed timber. Or you could be having your Work Health Safety management system assessed....Continue Reading

Would Usain Bolt have won the gold medal without a coach? Would the Melbourne Storm be a powerhouse rugby league team without Craig Bellamy? All excellent people and organisations get help. Only the mediocre think they can do it all themselves. In today’s complex world it is impossible to be across everything needed to make...Continue Reading

US Army General, Creighton Abrams, is credited with the advice: “When eating an elephant take one bite at a time.” For many small-to-medium business owners, resolving disputes is like eating elephants. It can be so overwhelming at first that they would rather not try. The business advisor’s role can be to encourage business owners to...Continue Reading

Approaching the end of financial year, small businesses are being bombarded with messages encouraging them to spend up big to take advantage of the $20,000 immediate tax break. The accounts people are following up debtors and creditors, and the warehouse team is stocktaking. While it’s important to have everything in order at the end of...Continue Reading

Sales guru, Neil Rackham developed the SPIN selling model based around selling solutions to customer problems. SPIN stands for Situation, Problem, Inclination and Need-payoff. The SPIN model follows a strategy of enquiry. First, the salesperson asks questions to establish background facts about their potential customers (the Situation). Next they explore the customers’ issues and difficulties (the...Continue Reading