Accessing the free advisory services available from state and federal governments can help small business owners avoid the costly mistakes others have made when it comes to wages and underpayments. Celebrity chefs and national convenience store franchises have done much in the past few months to throw the issue of staff wages and underpayments into...
Three new local government authorities are commencing the SBDC’s Small Business Friendly Approvals Program to streamline their licencing and approvals processes. The City of Karratha, City of Busselton and Town of Cambridge are the latest local government authorities to start the journey of examining and improving their regulatory processes through...
The way you’re feeling can often be aligned with how well your business is doing. The thought of whether you can pay the bills or wages, or whether your business can actually continue, are burdens that can weigh heavily on any business owner. There are a number of ways you can manage any stress and anxiety you are feeling. Unfortunately due to...
Government agencies play an important role in our economy when procuring products and services.
Have the recent (and significant) changes to Facebook and Snapchat left you wondering ‘what now’ for your 2018 digital marketing plan? Instead of focusing on the negatives, like how your Facebook business page has declined in reach, or how much you dislike the new Snapchat, use this opportunity to take stock of your online efforts, identify areas...
The recent launch of 13 regional and metropolitan TAFE Jobs and Skills Centres (JSCs) has provided a one-stop shop for small businesses looking to recruit or train staff. The centres provide careers, training, and employment advice and assistance and serve as a direct link between businesses seeking staff and TAFE trainees and apprentices looking...
Identifying and understanding your potential customer base can help you market your business more effectively by keeping your advertising spend in the right places. Knowing where to find this information can often seem like a challenge, but the good news is that there are free tools you can access to help you find out more about your potential...
There’s more to offering a discount than simply reducing your prices. Offering discounts is a popular promotion technique to help increase sales and attract new customers, particularly if business is slow or you’re just starting out. Before you start offering discounts across the board, some careful planning, and considering other ‘value add’...
Pay rates and employer obligations can vary depending on which industrial relations system applies to your business. Find out about four free tools that can help you pay staff correctly.
The SBDC’s own Facebook group, ‘I’m a small business owner in Western Australia’, was created in 2014 to provide an active online community in which local business owners could network, ask for advice and share knowledge. The group recently hit the 13,000 member mark, and has proved to be a highly appreciated asset for small business owners to...
Once you’ve developed your business plan, successfully launched your business and are starting to enjoy life as an entrepreneur, you may be thinking about the best ways to take your business to the next level. Whether you work from home or from other premises, one way to get more done in your business is to hire some extra hands to help. Hiring...
It’s no secret that the cost of practically everything seems to have risen. As a commercial leasing tenant, it’s important to understand the outgoing clauses in your lease, so there are no surprises later on. Our business advisers spend a lot of time speaking with small business owners across WA. One question appears to be coming up frequently in...