Throwing a Christmas Party for a Small Business Owner

by Dr Greg Chapman

We all have been to lavish Christmas parties put on by large companies, either as an employee or a guest. But the parties for small business owners, have a character all of their own.

New-Comers, Worker-Bees and Key People of Influence

by Daniel Priestley

In every industry there are New-Comers, Worker-Bees, and Key People of Influence (KPI’s).

The New-Comers are enthusiastic, excited and full of dreams. They believe that this new industry they are in will fulfill their dreams and take them places. New-Comers are normally willing to work hard with little pay in the short term on the belief that the rewards will come in later. Typically they have seen the results that a KPI has achieved and they want to recreate similar success for themselves.

2013 Small Business Articles of the Year

by Dr Greg Chapman

With over 70 posts this year on the Australian Small Business Blog, it is now time to identify the top post as ranked by Google for page views.


3. Living with Objections to Your Offers- by a new contibutor to the blog - Jim Prigg. Well done Jim!

2. The Circle of Price

but the number one ad, as rated by page views, with more than 3 times as many views as the runner up is:

8 Ways to Maximize Your LinkedIn and Your Personal Branding

Personal branding is key to your success and LinkedIn is an excellent tool to help you achieve that. Let’s look at 8 ways to maximize your LinkedIn and your personal branding.

Ad of the Year

by Dr Greg Chapman

Each month over the past year, the Australian Small Business Blog has presented ads which illustrated well specific strategies that are critical for successful advertising. Now, as voted by the number of google views, here are the top three ads.



3. UHAC Eye Test

2. Do you know how to kiss a girl (I can't believe this wasn't #1)

but the number one ad, rated by views, is:

A Christmas Gift for Small Business Owners

by Dr Greg Chapman, MBA

So you have worked hard all year for everyone else. Isn't it time someone looked after you? As one of the unthanked heroes of the Australian economy, we here at the Australian Small Business Blog, want to thank you. Small businesses contribute 30% to the Australian GDP, punching way above their weight.

Great work in 2013. This is a little Christmas Gift that I hope will help you to achieve even more in 2014. You deserve it!

May Your Christmas Be- As You Plan It!

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Dr Greg Chapman is the Director of Empower Business Solutions and The Australian Business Coaching Club and is Australia's Leading Advisor on Emerging Businesses and provides Coaching and Consulting advice to Australian Small Business Owners in Marketing & Business Strategies Planning & Systems. He is also the author of The Five Pillars of Guaranteed Business Success and Price: How You Can Charge More Without Losing Sales.

Sales Technique - I’m really too busy

by Jim Prigg

This objection is one that can be frustrating. Is it an excuse or a real reason for delaying the decision? Are people just being nice or are they not having the courage to say no to your offer? Find out what would put your offer into their decision making agenda above the other things that are competing for their time or money.

Discounting or Average Pricing

by Dr Greg Chapman

Everyone (including me) says discounting is a bad idea if you are using it as a way to increase gross profit through sales volume. For example, if your gross profit is 30% and you offer a 20% discount, you will have to double your sales, just to break even. It also creates a reputation for your business that your prices are negotiable. Not a great strategy.

Most people discount when they see their stock just sitting on the shelves and then they panic, but what if you planned to discount from the start. What might such a plan look like?

Marketing Moments- Laser Marketing - Butcher, Baker or Candlestick Maker

by Dr Greg Chapman, MBA

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So you have designed a widget for red headed, left handed Candlestick Makers with size 7 shoes. You know they will love it, but how will you find them without spending large sums of money, most of which misses the target. More.....

Dr Greg Chapman is the Director of Empower Business Solutions and The Australian Business Coaching Club and is Australia's Leading Advisor on Emerging Businesses and provides Coaching and Consulting advice to Australian Small Business Owners in Marketing & Business Strategies Planning & Systems. He is also the author of The Five Pillars of Guaranteed Business Success and Price: How You Can Charge More Without Losing Sales.

Things to ask your Bookkeeper before the weekend...

by Tim Johnston

It’s great to have someone that has their finger on the pulse of your business. While your Tax Accountant keeps there eye on the “big Picture,” your Bookkeeper knows exactly where you stand financially today! Some clients comment how they don’t know how we can stand number-crunching for a living. However it’s not the bean counting side of things that we love but being able to sit down with a business owner and help them understand their business.

How to Avoid Google Ranking Demotion for Non Mobile Optimised Sites

by Nathanial Bibby

We've always known a mobile site is important, but Google has stood firm in their announcement that they will punish sites that are not optimised for mobile.

Price Comparison Websites

by Dr Greg Chapman

To list, or not to list, that is the question, as Hamlet probably never asked.

There are numerous websites now offering customers the ability to get multiple quotes for a service. This is great for the customer because they are able to find the best service at the lowest cost in a side-by-side comparison- but is it the right thing for your business?

Small Business Best Practice Benchmarks - The Acid Test

by Dr Greg Chapman

This is another in the series of posts on Small Business Best Practice Benchmarks.

In ancient times, a merchant would test for the purity of a gold item being traded with acid. Pure gold wasn’t affected by acid, but if the item was made with a low cost metal alloy, the acid would react.

In business, the Acid Test refers to a business’ solvency in the event there was a shortfall in sales or delayed payment from debtors. This is the ability to operate at very short notice if there was a loss of income for any reason. It is the most stringent test of a business’ ability to cover short term obligations.
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Dr Greg Chapman is the Director of Empower Business Solutions and The Australian Business Coaching Club and is Australia's Leading Advisor on Emerging Businesses and provides Coaching and Consulting advice to Australian Small Business Owners in Marketing & Business Strategies Planning & Systems. He is also the author of The Five Pillars of Guaranteed Business Success and Price: How You Can Charge More Without Losing Sales.

Ad of the Month - Getting Your Attention

by Dr Greg Chapman

In this day of remote controls and fast forwarding, keeping people watching your ad to the end has never been more difficult. This Honda commercial does this by its use of illusion to keep your attention.

Lessons for Small Business from Big Business - Blackberry Update

by Dr Greg Chapman

In a previous post I discussed how Blackberry was trying to find a buyer, and my scepticism that they would find one. There has now been acceptance of this reality.

Sales Technique- Can you give me a discount?

by Jim Prigg

How often do you get thrown this scenario?

"I’ve talked with someone who said that they will give me a discount on what you are selling. Can you do that for me?"

What do you say? How do you react?

Authors: A New Way to Promote Your Books

by Dr Greg Chapman

As an author, I am always on the lookout for new ways to promote my books, especially ways that don’t cost anything!

Just yesterday, I came across a site called Bookarma which is about to launch which helps authors promote their books at no cost. I am particularly keen to encourage Aussie authors to sign up for this program so we can build our own power network, but if international stardom is what you seek, this may also be the answer for you.

Anyway, check out Bookarma. Projects like this should be supported by all authors serious about getting their message out to a wider audience.

(Note when you click on the sign-up link, click on the link to request an invitation where you will get more information. The site has already changed in the last 24 hours and may change again by the time you read this as it is still at beta stage. I suspect at some point they will include some charge, but at the moment it’s free!)

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May Your Business this Year be - As You Plan It.

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Over to You. What do You Think? Post Your Comments Below. [Note to those seeking a free ride on our google ranking, blog spam will be deleted,but genuine contributions will be happily published.]

Dr Greg Chapman is the Director of Empower Business Solutions and The Australian Business Coaching Club and is Australia's Leading Advisor on Emerging Businesses and provides Coaching and Consulting advice to Australian Small Business Owners in Marketing & Business Strategies Planning & Systems. He is also the author of The Five Pillars of Guaranteed Business Success and Price: How You Can Charge More Without Losing Sales.

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Marketing Moments - Getting a Premium

by Dr Greg Chapman, MBA

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The marketplace has never been more competitive, and it's never been easier to compare. In fact some businesses, such as iSelect, are built of offering side-by-side comparisons. In such a marketplace, price shopping is the norm. More.....

Dr Greg Chapman is the Director of Empower Business Solutions and The Australian Business Coaching Club and is Australia's Leading Advisor on Emerging Businesses and provides Coaching and Consulting advice to Australian Small Business Owners in Marketing & Business Strategies Planning & Systems. He is also the author of The Five Pillars of Guaranteed Business Success and Price: How You Can Charge More Without Losing Sales.

Small Business Best Practice - Cash at Bank

by Dr Greg Chapman

This is another in the series of posts on Small Business Best Practice Benchmarks.

In business Cash is King. Many business go broke ‘making a profit’. Cash at Bank refers to the ‘liquid’ assets that are actually cash or can be turned into cash very quickly. Having a minimum level of Cash at Bank is essential to ensure continuity of operations.
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Dr Greg Chapman is the Director of Empower Business Solutions and The Australian Business Coaching Club and is Australia's Leading Advisor on Emerging Businesses and provides Coaching and Consulting advice to Australian Small Business Owners in Marketing & Business Strategies Planning & Systems. He is also the author of The Five Pillars of Guaranteed Business Success and Price: How You Can Charge More Without Losing Sales.

I want to get some other quotes

by Jim Prigg

While this may seem a fair request by potential customers, is getting a quote the beginning of the end game or is it a lame excuse not to make a decision?

Lessons for Small Business from Big Business - Blackberry

by Dr Greg Chapman

Blackberry is in trouble. At one time it was the phone of choice for the corporate world. Even the US president had one. It had excellent email security and integrated well with other business software products.

All that changed with the new generation of phones. Blackberry failed to keep up and saw its market share collapse, even in its niche of choice - corporates. It now seems to be looking for a buyer, but what’s it worth?

Ad of the Month - Follow-up

by Dr Greg Chapman

When you do an ad campaign, you must be nimble in these days of social media for a counter punch to leverage your campaign. In this ad for Dodge Durango, faux news presenter Ron Burgandy compares the 360 HP vehicle to … a horse! On its own, this is quite funny.

Free Training for Small Businesses

by Dr Greg Chapman

Recently I was asked to present a webinar for a colleague of mine

Why most businesses stay small &
what YOU can do about YOURS

something I had never actually done for my own subscribers. I have presented this as a live seminar many times, but this is the first time I have offered this in a webinar format at zero cost to you. This webinar is based on my award winning small business book, The Five Pillars of Guaranteed Business Success. More.....

Dr Greg Chapman is the Director of Empower Business Solutions and The Australian Business Coaching Club and is Australia's Leading Advisor on Emerging Businesses and provides Coaching and Consulting advice to Australian Small Business Owners in Marketing & Business Strategies Planning & Systems. He is also the author of The Five Pillars of Guaranteed Business Success and Price: How You Can Charge More Without Losing Sales.

Marketing Moments - A Going Concern

by Dr Greg Chapman, MBA

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Accountants refer to a business as a going concern if it can function without the threat of liquidation for the foreseeable future, usually 12 months. That their current assets are greater than their current liabilities.

However, this doesn’t mean that the business is a going concern in the marketing sense. What would happen if you stepped out of the business? How long would it continue? Would the enquiries still come in? Would the sales still happen? More.....

Dr Greg Chapman is the Director of Empower Business Solutions and The Australian Business Coaching Club and is Australia's Leading Advisor on Emerging Businesses and provides Coaching and Consulting advice to Australian Small Business Owners in Marketing & Business Strategies Planning & Systems. He is also the author of The Five Pillars of Guaranteed Business Success and Price: How You Can Charge More Without Losing Sales.

Small Business Best Practice Benchmarks - Creditors

by Dr Greg Chapman

This is another in the series of posts on Small Business Best Practice Benchmarks.

The Creditors measure refers to the average number of days it takes to make a payment by a business. While there is a temptation to delay payment for as long as possible to maximise working capital and assist cashflow, especially if a business’ Debtors are slow in paying; but this is not what the best small businesses do.
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Dr Greg Chapman is the Director of Empower Business Solutions and The Australian Business Coaching Club and is Australia's Leading Advisor on Emerging Businesses and provides Coaching and Consulting advice to Australian Small Business Owners in Marketing & Business Strategies Planning & Systems. He is also the author of The Five Pillars of Guaranteed Business Success and Price: How You Can Charge More Without Losing Sales.

Ad of the Month - Call to Action

by Dr Greg Chapman

This month is not really an ad, but a very clever marketing campaign for a new product in a new market. What is clever about it is how the company is able to get people buying a fairly traditional product in a typical offline retail environment to optin to their database.

How to understand “buying” stimulators

by Jim Prigg

Buying stimulators ADD POWER to your sales proposition and offers. Use them in your presentations, ads, web pages and other sales messages to get more sales. They produce immediate results without increasing your costs.

Couples in Business

by Dr Greg Chapman

For Richer or Poorer- What couple and non-couple partners in business can teach each other.

There are almost as many styles of business ownership as there are relationships between people, but one ownership type has characteristics and a dynamic that sets it apart from others – and that is couples in a personal relationship who run a business together.

Dr Greg Chapman, author of "Married to the Business -- Honey I love you but our business sucks" joins Sean Grobbelaar for Sydney Business Month TV on a Google Hangout and explains what couples who run a business together can learn from non-couple business partners and vice versa.

The Purpose of Your Business

by Dr Greg Chapman

I often ask this question at my live events; “What is the purpose of your business?” and get a variety of interesting answers. Varying from helping my customers solve their problems with my ‘superior’ service, making the world a better place to the ubiquitous, make money.

I point out, that none of these possibly worthy goals is the purpose of your business.

Living with objections to your offers - 2

by Jim Prigg

Objections to your offers and ideas are a natural part of the sales process. Rather than be afraid of objections get into the mood of what the prospect/client is trying to tell you, show you or ask you to do. [Part 1 of this article here]

Marketing Moments - If only I had a better hammer

by Dr Greg Chapman, MBA

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I’m not the world’s greatest handyman, although I still do odd jobs round the house, and sometimes this involves knocking nails into the wall. It’s a frustrating exercise because invariably I bend the nail, or hit my thumb. I just don’t do it often enough to get any good at it.I wonder if I would have better results with a hammer the professionals use More.....

Dr Greg Chapman is the Director of Empower Business Solutions and The Australian Business Coaching Club and is Australia's Leading Advisor on Emerging Businesses and provides Coaching and Consulting advice to Australian Small Business Owners in Marketing & Business Strategies Planning & Systems. He is also the author of The Five Pillars of Guaranteed Business Success and Price: How You Can Charge More Without Losing Sales.

Living with objections to your offers - 1

by Jim Prigg

This is the first of a series on Sales Technique from the Knowledge Master - Jim Prigg

Handling objections and resistance is part of the sales process. Just as you need to be able to find potential clients, get appointments, give simple advice, ask the right questions, explain concepts, close the deal, render ongoing service and retain clients so you will need to be able to handle objections to survive and thrive.

Make Your Business Run without You

by Dr Greg Chapman

Recently I was interviewed by Tom Poland of the 8020 Center on the topic of How to Make Your Business Run without You, a topic on which I regularly speak.

Small Business Best Practice Benchmarks - Debtors

by Dr Greg Chapman

This is another in the series of posts on Small Business Best Practice Benchmarks.

Many businesses go bust while making a profit. Cash is King, which is why your debtor position is so important. A business may look at its balance sheet and see an apparently healthy Current Asset Ratio but this measure can hide bad debts. The debtor position can reveal much more about your liquidity. The older the debt, the less likely it is to be paid.
More...


Dr Greg Chapman is the Director of Empower Business Solutions and The Australian Business Coaching Club and is Australia's Leading Advisor on Emerging Businesses and provides Coaching and Consulting advice to Australian Small Business Owners in Marketing & Business Strategies Planning & Systems. He is also the author of The Five Pillars of Guaranteed Business Success and Price: How You Can Charge More Without Losing Sales.

Ad of the Month - From 1916

by Dr Greg Chapman

This ad is not from August. It’s not even from this year. In fact, it’s almost 100 years old. Perhaps when you first see it, you won’t even think it’s an ad, but even with a warning that this is an ad, can you resist reading it?

2013 National Small Business Summit - 3

by Dr Greg Chapman

Here is the last part of my review of the 2013 National Small Business Summit.

2013 National Small Business Summit - 2

by Dr Greg Chapman

Here is part two of my review of the 2013 National Small Business Summit.

2013 National Small Business Summit - 1

by Dr Greg Chapman

It’s always interesting to attend the National Small Business Summit in an election year, with high profile politicians attending (although Kevin Rudd didn’t), plus the usual array of bureaucrats and business presenters. This year we were in Brisbane. Here is a flavour of what I heard at the event.

The Small Business Blues

by Dr Greg Chapman

The CEO of the Council of Small Business of Australia, Peter Strong is a man of many talents. I have known him for several years, but I didn’t know that he was a rapper. “Red Tape Nation” is his story, recounting his personal experiences as a small business owner. Enjoy!

Pricing Strategy for Financial Planners

Have the FOFA regulations hit your bottomline? 

Discover a new way of setting your fees that increases both your revenue and your income under a Fee for Service model. 

“We were able to increase our revenue by 20% and our income by 70% with Dr Chapman’s strategies” Kevin & Jenny M. SA 

At this new FPA accredited workshop: 

“Pricing for Planners – How to Increase Your Fees without Losing Clients” 

You will also earn CPD points, fulfilling your professional obligations by just attending, while you learn how to increase Your fees. 

Find out more about this workshop by Dr Greg Chapman, author of “Price: How You can Charge More without Losing Sales” and listen to an interview on pricing strategy,when you click here.

Dr Greg Chapman is the Director of Empower Business Solutions and The Australian Business Coaching Club and is Australia's Leading Advisor on Emerging Businesses and provides Coaching and Consulting advice to Australian Small Business Owners in Marketing & Business Strategies Planning & Systems. He is also the author of The Five Pillars of Guaranteed Business Success and Price: How You Can Charge More Without Losing Sales.

Marketing Moments - A Matter of Taste

by Dr Greg Chapman, MBA

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The Gallo brothers were one of the pioneers in the Californian wine industry. They are now the largest family owned wine business in the world. But it was not always this way.

Ernest Gallo once called on a customer in the midst of the depression. He gave him a tasting test, one from a 5c a bottle wine (this was the depression) and the other from a 10c bottle. More.....

Dr Greg Chapman is the Director of Empower Business Solutions and The Australian Business Coaching Club and is Australia's Leading Advisor on Emerging Businesses and provides Coaching and Consulting advice to Australian Small Business Owners in Marketing & Business Strategies Planning & Systems. He is also the author of The Five Pillars of Guaranteed Business Success and Price: How You Can Charge More Without Losing Sales.

Married to the Business - Silver Medallist

Breaking News: Married to the Business is a Silver Medallist in the International Indie Business Book Awards

Dr Greg Chapman is the Director of Empower Business Solutions and The Australian Business Coaching Club and is Australia's Leading Advisor on Emerging Businesses and provides Coaching and Consulting advice to Australian Small Business Owners in Marketing & Business Strategies Planning & Systems. He is also the author of The Five Pillars of Guaranteed Business Success and Price: How You Can Charge More Without Losing Sales.

Ad of the Month - Niche

by Dr Greg Chapman

This month’s ad comes from Germany. It’s for a city car and it presents its point of difference in a clever way, by first showing what it’s not good at. It proves its niche position by disproving its suitability outside its niche. It makes you ask why would you buy a non-niche car for city driving? It makes this choice look ridiculous. And it does it with Attitude.

Small Business Best Practice Benchmarks - Total Sales per Employee

by Dr Greg Chapman

This is another in the series of posts on Small Business Best Practice Benchmarks.

How productive should each employee in your business be? One simple way of calculating this measure would be dividing Total Sales by the number of Full Time Equivalent employees. However this varies considerably by industry, the skill level of the average employee and the capital investment in the business.
More...


Dr Greg Chapman is the Director of Empower Business Solutions and The Australian Business Coaching Club and is Australia's Leading Advisor on Emerging Businesses and provides Coaching and Consulting advice to Australian Small Business Owners in Marketing & Business Strategies Planning & Systems. He is also the author of The Five Pillars of Guaranteed Business Success and Price: How You Can Charge More Without Losing Sales.

Getting Paid First in Your Business

by Dr Greg Chapman

The way most people run their business, they are the last to get paid. Their wage is what’s left over after they have paid their bills and their staff. If there’s not enough to go around, they take a cut, or even worse, have to chip in from their own pockets to make sure that everyone else gets paid.

Is there another way? Yes.

Marketing Moments - Supply and Demand

by Dr Greg Chapman, MBA

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Economics 101 tells us that for any given level of supply, as demand increases you can increase your prices, but do you do it? Have you seen people queue to get the latest iphone, or tickets for a popular group. There is no need to discount when there is already a queue at your door. More.....

Dr Greg Chapman is the Director of Empower Business Solutions and The Australian Business Coaching Club and is Australia's Leading Advisor on Emerging Businesses and provides Coaching and Consulting advice to Australian Small Business Owners in Marketing & Business Strategies Planning & Systems. He is also the author of The Five Pillars of Guaranteed Business Success and Price: How You Can Charge More Without Losing Sales.

Trust but Verify

by Dr Greg Chapman

There’s always a tension between empowering your staff and overpowering them with micromanagement. When you leave staff to their own devices, there is always a risk that they will make decisions you don’t agree with, or carry out tasks incorrectly.

On the other hand, when you micromanage, you demotivate your staff, they won’t take any initiative, and you become the bottleneck. So what’s the answer?

Small Business Best Practice Benchmarks - Value added percentage of sales

by Dr Greg Chapman

This is another in the series of posts on Small Business Best Practice Benchmarks.

While this measure is not often considered, it’s a strategically important benchmark of the strength of a business’ position in the marketplace. Value added as a percentage of sales is defined as the ratio of costs remaining after third party costs for services and materials to deliver the products that the business sells are removed as a percentage of sales. The higher this measure is, the more of the value is created and kept inhouse.
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Dr Greg Chapman is the Director of Empower Business Solutions and The Australian Business Coaching Club and is Australia's Leading Advisor on Emerging Businesses and provides Coaching and Consulting advice to Australian Small Business Owners in Marketing & Business Strategies Planning & Systems. He is also the author of The Five Pillars of Guaranteed Business Success and Price: How You Can Charge More Without Losing Sales.