Newsletter Features
Is your intellectual property protected?
“Passing off” is a law tort which protects unregistered trademarks. The basic idea of passing off is that a trader cannot represent his or her product the same as another person’s product. This prevents a misrepresentation that can cause a lot of damage to a business’ goodwill and reputation.
There are three elements in the tort; in order for action to be taken the plaintiff must produce evidence of each:
Do you know who your customers are?
More often than not, otherwise savvy small business owners either have no idea who will buy from them, or they simply assume that ‘everyone’ will. Assumptions like this can lead to wrong decisions, wrong pricing, wrong marketing strategy – and potential business failure. In order to build a stronger and more profitable business you need to be able to identify your target market by determining exactly who the people buying from you will be.
People purchase products or services for three basic reasons:
Start planning now to minimise your tax this financial year
With the end of the financial year just a few weeks away, there is no time to wast in preparing your tax plan. Tax planning involves examining your business’ recent and updated financial records, BAS and your expected income for the coming quarter. Once this has been done, you can start to employ a variety of methods in order to legally minimise your tax liability.
The Miracle of Networking and Referrals
It’s no secret that networking and referrals are two of the top ways to grow your business with very minimal cost to you. So, what can you do to build your networks and referrals? Simple:
If one in three candidates admit lying when they apply for jobs, how do you protect your business?
Applying for their dream job, or any job, can bring out the worst in some people. Studies consistently show that at least a third of all candidates are prone to ‘embellish’ their suitability for the job they want.
The three most common ‘lies’ you may encounter in a recruiting situation are:
Quinns Free Seminars
Quinns is able to offer businesses and associations the opportunity to host a business seminar for the benefit of their members and associates.
Our seminars are provided at no cost to you and are hosted by our Principal, Michael Quinn, who is both a Chartered Accountant and a practicing Solicitor.
Can your business survive without you?
As a small business owner it is a fair assumption that you spend a large proportion of your life working hard towards building profitable and successful business. This is no mean feat and certainly not something to be taken lightly.
With all of your efforts devoted to maintaining and growing the business, it is likely that you have not stopped to consider what would happen to the business should you no longer be there everyday. Your absence may be a conscious choice, such as spending more time with your family or it could be as a result of an accident, illness or even death.
Are you ready for the upturn? - small business news from Balance at Work
A recognised early effect of improved economic conditions is a significant increase in the mobility of employees. Usually, highly skilled employees who are confident in their employability will jump first. This has implications for employers in two main areas, retention and recruitment.
You have skilled and experienced staff who are an asset to your business. Don’t give them any reason to start looking elsewhere!
First Impressions Count
When meeting a client for the first time it is critical you make the right impression. How well you do during this first meeting reflects how well prepared you are, how professional you are and how much you value your meeting.
In the first 5 minutes it is critical you establish your credibility. People like to work with people they like so don’t focus
on selling your product until you have sold yourself.
SEO Explained
In the previous issue we explored Google’s popular Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising Tool Adwords. In brief Adwords allows advertisers to secure a high listing on Google and charges them each time someone clicks on their listing. As an alternative to a PPC campaign, website owners can implement a Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) strategy to achieve a high listing in the organic section of the search page, that is that section of the page that is not paid advertising. Now whilst it doesn’t cost website owners each time someone clicks on an organic listing, significant costs can occur if you pay for experts or consultants to administer this campaign for you.
