Accounting & Tax for the small business operator
Presented by Phil Ciravolo from ‘Cugley Ciravolo Bordin Accountants’.

Phil gave a fantastic presentation that was packed with information and easily understood. We covered topics such as business structures, recent changes to the tax system, maximising tax deductions, year-end tax planning, and Phil gave us a review of tax opportunities for small businesses.

Everyone who attended received a hand out of his presentation, and he has been generous enough to allow us to upload this to our online forum so that those who were not able to make the night can still have the opportunity to access his many words of wisdom.

Download a Power Pont version of Phil's Presentation

Successful Influencing Skills

A key skill of any entrepreneur is to successfully influence a wide variety of stakeholders – from clients to staff and even to bank managers.  In this interactive session you will discover the key skills and techniques of successful influencing, outlined with supporting case studies.

Mick Walsh has managed his successful consulting and training company since 1994.  A key area of his specialisation is influencing skills and he has had conducted a variety of influencing programs in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.  Initially situated in Southbank, he now works from home in Eltham. 

Download a Power Pont version of Mick's Presentation

Work-life balance - how to get IT!

Developing your business by developing the people in it (you!!) After all, no matter what business you are in, it is people that run it. Di’s presentation covered work but also life outside work such as health, relationships & leisure.

Her refreshing, honest and inspiring presentation covererd high performance, work life balance and making each day better. She talked about Life in very real ways that effect us all. Business is run by people and much like cars – when fuel is in the tank we perform much better. Work is part of life – and frankly, we can use help with both!

Speakers: Three HomeBiz members: Kylie Moppert (Financial Reporting Solutions), Elaine Sum (Advanced Transformations) and Vali Ghobadi (New Attitude Coaching)

With a rich & diverse background in Accounting, personal and business consulting & coaching, Kylie, Elaine & Vali will explore with us the areas of Neuro Linguistic Programming, body language and structure of presentation.

This Network Night was to learn about the importance of:
• Being clear about what you want to communicate
• Presenting what you know about and being confident in your knowledge
• Listening to and respecting your audience.

Elaine Sum is a life coach, specialising in wellness and performance, and a certified trainer of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP). Her experience in personal development, science/engineering and corporate management spans more than 15 years. She has lived and worked in Malaysia, United Kingdom, Germany and Australia.

Vali Ghobadi is the founder of New Attitude Coaching and an accredited professional coach who is committed to assisting clients to achieve their maximum potential, whether it’s in their personal or professional lives.

Kylie Moppert, an actor at heart, finally turned her focus from acting to bean counting in 2000 when GST was becoming a reality. An opinionated and outspoken employee, Kylie’s employer encouraged her to become ‘self-employed’ and provided clients. Her continuing interest in business lead her to complete a Master of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in ’05, and to her current studies on women in business (a Master of Arts, researching Women Entrepreneurs)

Novembers Speed Networking night promises to be a lot of fun as well as providing you with a real opportunity to make some new connections that will help you build your business referral base.

Speed Networking involves people meeting each other one at a time for a short interval and then moving on to the next person in line. It’s a fairly structured way to meet other business people and creates a different environment to the usual networking events. It’s a bit like speed dating with one key difference.

The purpose of Speed Networking is not to eliminate potential business contacts. Rather it is to meet a wide variety of people, even those with whom you may think you have nothing in common with, and form a connection that may at some stage develop into a mutually beneficial business relationship.

Ivan Misner, founder of BNI, offers several points to keep in mind for speed networking*:

1: Start with the end in mind – you’re not there to ‘bag the big one’, you’re there to find ways to connect with each and every person that you sit with for that 2 minute period.

2: Conduct the exercise as a mini interview about your new contact – what can you find out about them that will give you the knowledge you need to further the goals of that individual.

3: Make notes during the exercise

4: Follow up – don’t waste your time. The ‘magic’ is going to happen after the event, in the weeks and months to come.

* from My Business, August 07 Speed networking… and beyond!