Business news update from AusIndustry. 

ACCC releases product safety guide for online businesses. 

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has released a new publication, A guide for business: Consumer product safety online, that outlines best practice tips for online sellers and marketplaces.

The report has been developed for Australian and overseas-based businesses that supply, or intend to supply, products to Australian consumers via the internet.

Regardless of whether a business is based in Australia or overseas, they are responsible for understanding the regulations and safety issues affecting their products and complying with Australian consumer law.

The report describes practical steps online businesses can take towards meeting their obligations, including:

• clearly displaying warnings and product labelling
• using good quality product images
• providing clear product descriptions, including
• recommended usage
• age-grading for children’s products
• checking the requirements of Australian safety standards and bans prior to listing a product as available for sale.

For more information and to access the report, visit the Product Safety Australia website.

New tax app for small business. 

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has released a new app designed to help small businesses find relevant tax information and tools in one place.

Using the app, small business owners can search the Small Business Assist Directory to find tailored information and YouTube video explanations on a range of topics. The app also includes calculators that can work out employees’ tax and superannuation statuses, how much tax to withhold from employees’ pay, and figure out tax debt payment plans.

The app is available through Google play™, the Apple App Store and Windows Phone Store. For more information or to download the app, visit the ATO website. 

Are you looking after your professional development? 

Check out these fantastic courses.

Our friends at Lighthouse Innovation in Canberra have this great article on their website. Check them out for more information. 

Failure is an inside job

‘Fail early, fail often, but always fail forward’ – these are the words of author John C. Maxwell and should be the mantra for all startup businesses.

While you can’t control everything that happens to you, you can control your attitude and be open to learning from your mistakes. So, when you receive less than favourable feedback about your startup idea, your pitch session is a fizzer or your funding application is denied, these are some things to keep in mind:

1. Equip yourself by understanding what makes business ideas fail

There’s a lot of information about business models in books, online, at conferences and from expert advisors. When you launch a new business you’re putting a lot on the line – your money, your time, your reputation and very often your relationships, so it’s important to give yourself the best chance of success. Investing the time upfront to refine your idea and improve areas of weakness can save you a lot of heartache down the track.  There are also online diagnostic tools like Bizlab (http://bizlab.lighthouseinnovation.com.au/) that provide feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of your idea. Learn from these and make the necessary changes.

2. Redefine failure and success

Think of mistakes as lessons and just like in school, you get to repeat a lesson until it’s learned. Sometimes you need a painful wake-up call to learn the lesson, but you’ll know you’ve learned it when your actions change and you see new and promising results in your business.

3. Don’t be too quick to declare a failure – keep the bigger picture in mind

One of the biggest challenges facing startups with disruptive ideas is that initially nobody gets them. Be careful not to judge a big idea a failure too quickly, look at initial rejections within the context of the bigger picture.

4. Both success and failure are a journey

The process of business success includes planning, informed decision-making, risk management and identifying opportunities. Equally the process of failure involves ignoring the warning signs, failure to act, poor planning and insufficient risk management.

5. Mistakes are not a permanent stain

When you’re pushing the boundaries nobody gets it right the first time. Henry Ford had two business failures before he started the Ford Motor Company and J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter manuscript was rejected by 12 publishing houses before it was eventually accepted.

Being able to fail quickly and recover from setbacks is an important skill for entrepreneurs. Sometimes the best way to look at your business idea is as a collection of experiments – some will pan out and others won’t.

Shoalhaven Small Business Club 

November 4th 2013

Marketing and Where to Begin. 

Come and join in the conversation at this months small business club. 

Wollongong Small Business Club

"Reverse Engineering Your Personal Brand" 

Have you ever:
Walked away from a meeting, conversation or interaction and thought to yourself "If only I'd said/done...."?
Been in a situation where you know you needed to make a great first impression?
Wondered if you could have any influence over how others judge your performance?

Then you'll love the speaker we have planned for you at this WSBC event.

Rod Matthews will be taking us through:
How to reverse engineer the impression you would like to create
How to increase alignment in your messages
How to increase behavioural flexibility

This will be our last event for 2013 so we hope that you will all be able to join us for the evening!

Please note this is Melbourne Cup Day

Guest Speaker - Rod Matthews

When -Tuesday 5 November Networking starts at 5.15pm - finish 7.30pm
Where -Villa Doro Function Centre 39 - 41 Flinders Street Wollongong 

Cost-Attendance is FREE, light meal provided, buy your own drinks
Who should attend Small business operators, home based business and anyone starting a business
RSVP Go to www.rdaillawarra, click on the Events tab to register by Friday 1 November

Shoalhaven Small Business Club Workshop - "Create interest in your business"

Do you ever feel uncomfortable talking about who you are and what you do? 

Do you struggle to sell yourself because you don’t want to be “salesy”?

This workshop will help you to create enough interest in your business to get your prospective customers to say “yes”. 

 Click here for more information

Wollongong Small Business Club - Speed Networking

Come along to the Wollongong Small Business Club meeting this Tuesday night for a great night of SPEED NETWORKING.  

Speed networking is a great way to meet lots of new customers / clients and a great way to increase your data base of contacts.   

The meeting starts at 5.30pm at the Villa Doro Function Centre in Wollongong and is FREE for small business people to attend.    Just don’t forget to bring lots of business cards / brochures. 

Illawarra ITeC is proud to be a sponsor and coordinator of this exciting monthly business event.  

To register your attendance visit www.rdaillawarra.com.au or ring Lee at RDA Illawarra on 4227 4500.