Industry Experts
Our resident business experts analyse what’s going on in the world of business tech and explore what it means for you, with practical industry insights to build your Smarter Business™.
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The year ahead: 5 key opportunities for small businesses
In the second article from Telstra’s partnership series with Small Business Australia, Executive Director Bill Lang shares his take on the key opportunities for small businesse...
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3 essentials to keep your digital platforms up to date
As part of Telstra’s partnership with Small Business Australia, Executive Director Bill Lang shares three quick, practical tips to help small and medium-sized businesses stand ...
6 expert tips to make sure your hospitality business thrives in 2022
For many hospitality businesses, the past two years have presented some unique challenges. The post-COVID world has its own obstacles, from finding and retaining staff to changing customer behaviours and inflation. Now the ability to pivot, adapt and embrace new tech is more important than ever. Here, a hospitality expert outlines six ways you can ...
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Federal Budget 2021: 5 opportunities for small businesses
Bill Lang, Executive Director of Small Business Australia, shares his take on the key opportunities for small businesses following the Federal Budget 2021 announcement – with a...
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4 ways to reach more customers with Google’s business tools
John Ball, Country Manager of Google Customer Solutions AUNZ, shares his four tips to reach more customers with Google’s suite of business tools.
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Spotzer's 5 tips for an impressive website
Paul Liascos, Managing Director (APAC) of Spotzer, shares five ways you can improve your business's website.
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Federal Budget 2020: 5 key take-aways for small business
Telstra has teamed up with Small Business Australia to deliver a series of articles and resources to help Aussie small businesses survive and thrive in these challenging times....
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How-to: Leverage your customer data for business success
Data science is big news, with many consultants promising that big data holds the key to business success. Here’s how you can keep up, even if your budget is low. For busy smal...
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Round-up: 7 best business podcasts
Time is precious in our busy lives. Whether you’re commuting on a train, trapped in traffic, waiting to board that plane or simply taking some much-needed downtime, podcasts ar...
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Leadership lessons from Airbnb and Twitter
Airbnb and Twitter both can offer some brilliant lessons in scaling up to achieve global supremacy. Though as Morris Kaplan explains, leaders of fast-growth companies rarely ge...
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Must-have social media tools for SMEs
If you’re just starting out, hiring a full-time social media manager may not be at the top of the to-do list. Luckily, there are some fantastic alternatives to increase your br...
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5 easy ways to improve your cash flow
You could get money flowing into your account faster with these tips from Effie Zahos. For many businesses, day-to-day operations are reliant on having a streamlined cash flow....
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Simple startup metrics your small business cant afford to ignore
Measuring how well your company is performing against your business KPIs can be done in a multitude of ways. Jeff Haden looks at the four key metrics for startups that will sho...
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At the top of her game: Leeanne Grantham
From a national basketball star to the boardroom, business woman Leeanne Grantham’s been at the top of Aussie sport for more than two decades. Here she shares her lessons for A...
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Innovation acquisition - can business innovation be bought?
Every business aims to be “innovative”, but can true business innovation be successfully developed and packaged by leveraging people, processes and latest technologies? What is...
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Michael Snare's 3 tips for business success
When Michael Snare launched Point Project Management (PPM) with business partner Brendan Bilston in 2006, it was a calculated risk. Snare borrowed from his parents to cover cas...
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Why your business needs an IT service delivery model
Each month, Cross Words invites a business brain or digital doyen to step onto the Smarter Business Ideas soapbox and share the big hot button topic or issue that has them all...
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Andre Agassi on business: Know your competition
Whether on centre court or in the boardroom, success or failure often relies on just how much you have studied and analysed your competition. No-one knows this better than Andr...
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Striking the right balance in your business
"Camilla Franks says success comes from an unconventional mindset." Two years ago, a health scare forced the workaholic kaftan queen to re-evaluate her drastically out-of-sync ...
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Understanding analytics
"While technology has opened multiple new avenues for creative agencies, allowing marketers and businesses alike to explore new ways to get their message to the people, it’s al...
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What's on your desk? Virginia Martin
From a small shop in Melbourne’s historic Curtin House to stores across Australia, fashion designer Virginia Martin is creating much more than desire with her sophisticated clo...
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Can innovative tech sharpen your business
As a small business owner you may often feel you're flying solo, but the local knowledge available at Telstra Business Centres may help you knock over some business challenges.
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5 Secrets to Branson's success
Richard Branson is a business visionary and market leader. He’s also made a lot of mistakes. Here are five lessons business owners can learn. Being one of the biggest names in ...
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Success of the Agile
At Telstra’s Vantage conference in September, Principal Management Consultant Jesper Lowgren talked about why businesses need to stay nimble and remember their ‘dot’. Business ...
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Lessons from the US presidential campaigns
The current presidential campaigns in the United States are driving much of the media conversation globally. So what can businesses take away from the race for the highest offi...
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What's on your desk? Penny Locaso
For former Shell executive Penny Locaso, the future of business is in collaboration. And when it comes to her office, it’s all about creating positive energy that’ll feed into ...
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Top 5 inspirational people you need to follow
From entrepreneurs to marketing gurus, the world of social media is full of inspiring wisdom you really can't ignore. If you require a daily dose of motivational quotes to keep...
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7 surprising things every business owner should do before they retire
Jeff Haden explores a few things you should tick off your business bucket list – from making a leap of faith to making a difference. It is often quoted that "Twenty years from ...
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Overcoming the 5 business success killers
It’s important to learn from others’ mistakes. Jason Cunningham reflects on two decades of experience to identify the common pitfalls and what to watch out for.
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Triangl: Swimming in the deep end
Triangl's co-founder Erin Deering proves business and pleasure can mix. For founder of Triangl, Erin Deering, the road to business success has been eventful. She's tried multip...
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Technology: The most important fashion trend of the decade
Although technology and fashion have come together previously with fads like the 80s Walkman and 00s iPod, technofashion is far more prevalent and having a much greater effect ...
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Why collaboration drives NFPs
For businesses looking to get involved with or establish a not-for-profit (NFP), mentor Janine Garner says the key is to find collaborators who know things you don’t, writes Yv...
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What AFL players can teach small businesses
There's a lot to learn from team sports - a focus on teamwork, working together and dedication, among many others. As we approach finals season, Jeff Haden takes a look at what...
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15 Tips to build a better business
Australian industry leaders keep you up-to-date with what you need to do this quarter. Check our our tips from the experts below.
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What can the Greek crisis teach Aussie business?
The challenges being faced by Greece at the moment may not have a direct impact on Aussie business, but there’s a lot to be learned from their situation. The Greek situation na...
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3 Things Steve Jobs got wrong that built his empire
For all his success, Steve Jobs also had his share of failures. But failure guided a lot of his success. Here’s three things that helped build his empire.
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How Mecca made it count
It’s been nearly 20 years since inception, and Mecca is still the “peacock” of the beauty field. We catch up with Jo Horgan to learn her secrets. When Melbourne-based entrepren...
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Management to do list
Tiffany Loh gets together Australian industry leaders to keep you up-to-date with what you need to do this quarter. The end of the financial year brings about fresh beginnings ...
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Why mobile matters: Google's new mobile optimisation rules
Your business' website could drop down the search rankings from smartphone web searches if you don't heed Google's warnings on mobile-friendly web design. Small businesses risk...
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Me and my mentor: Dwayne Martens and Howard Barkhan
Dwayne Martens is the CEO of Amazonia. His mentor, Howard Barkhan, has experience in businesses, big and small. Dwayne and Howard are self-confessed health fanatics who believe...
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Risky business
Operating from Victoria’s second largest city, Geelong, with a second office in Werribee, Roderick Insurance Brokers delivers personal and corporate insurance services. Over th...
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War stories: The boy least likely
How Peter Alexander is now the man everyone wants to sleep with.
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Charlie Arnott natural grass fed beef
Charlie Arnott’s family was famous for biscuits – now he’s branding biodynamic beef. Stuart Ridley catches up with him to talk business philosophy, rural areas and selling beef...
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Smarter Business™ Issue 15
This month’s edition of Smarter Business™ brings you more tips, tech and expert advice, helping you run your business Smarter. “Business and family will never balance perfectly...
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Fashionably smart: 5 fashion service brands that are smart on social
Strut your stuff on your social networks with help from Australia and New Zealand’s top fashion brands. Creating a social media following is a big task for any business. Here w...
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Podcasts to power your business
The internet holds all the knowledge of the human race, but how do you sort the wheat from the chaff? We’ve collated our favourite podcasts for SMBs. Small business operators a...
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The easy way to be as productive as Warren Buffett
For small businesses looking to maximise their productivity, Warren Buffett’s Two-List System can be revolutionary, and help business owners put their focus onto the things tha...
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Tech investor Ashton Kutcher on innovation
Ashton Kutcher is most famous for his acting and high-profile relationships, but he is also a savvy technology investor with shares in Uber, Spotify, Airbnb, and more. Here he ...
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The biggest business blunders of 2014
More than half of Australian small and medium businesses have admitted to making a business mistake in the past year, according to new research released by Telstra. In a recent...
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How Patron built a billion-dollar business
Smarter’s News and Digital Editor Tiffany Loh sits down with Ilana Edelstein, co-creator of ultra-premium tequila Patrón and author of The Patrón Way to find out the challenges...
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What would Google do? 9 Email rules that transform your inbox
In a new book How Google Works, Google executive chairman and former CEO Eric Schmidt and former Senior Vice President of Products Jonathan Rosenberg impart nine rules for emai...
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How meditating changed the life of Origin Energy Chairman
What do Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Kylie Kwong and Bill Ford Jr have in common? They all practice some kind of meditation. Even Rupert Murdoch has tweeted about his intere...
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Surviving the wrecking ball: Learn from Steve Jobs and Alannah Hill to avoid failure now
At face value, you wouldn’t think tech icon Steve Jobs and Australian fashion designer Alannah Hill have much in common. But both have been hit hard by the business wrecking ba...
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War stories: Maggie Beer's perfect recipe to small business success
It only took Maggie Beer 20 years to become an overnight success. Maggie Beer has been a staple in Australian households for many years, but it took a lot of work to get t...
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Me and my mentor: Gary Ng
Gary Ng and Andrew Morello are two of the happiest people you’ll ever meet. Serendipity brought them together and although they’re from different backgrounds, the pair has forg...
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8 Eye-opening books that will change the way you do business
Successful Australian entrepreneurs reveal the books they turn to when in search of management advice and Leadership tips. Many successful entrepreneurs read for several hours ...
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What Does The Competition Policy Review Mean For You?
The government has released its draft report today. Find out what the recommendations for your industry are. The government has released its draft report today. Find out what a...
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Little data: What your customers might tell you (if you listen)
Big data has a little brother that should not be dismissed. Deborah Tarrant looks at the many benefits for business when customer little data is captured.
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Make Your Superannuation Super Fit
Superannuation contributions are often overlooked by Australia’s small business owners. Many people who are self-employed neglect to put money aside for retirement. And while 4...
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Management to do list Q1 2014-15: What you need to know now
Australian industry leaders keep you up to date with what you need to do this quarter.
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What I've Learned: Marion Grasby, Spice Queen
Marion Grasby saw a gap in the market and created her own line of quality Asian ingredients and recipes. After a shock exit from the second series of MasterChef in 2010, Marion...
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2014 Federal Budget Creates Worries For Businesses
The 2014 federal budget has produced mixed feelings across industries, with manufacturers and wholesalers remaining positive and Retailers anticipating a sharp drop in sales, a...
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Insights from the National Salary Survey 2014
The 2014 salary survey from the Australian Institute of Management (AIM) reveals smaller pay increases in the year ahead and less demand for permanent staff.
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3 Tips To Successful Bootstrapping With GoGet
Bruce Jeffreys, co-founder of GoGet, shares his bootstrapping secrets.
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The 3 Ways RedBalloon Embraced Bootstrapping
Naomi Simson, Founding Director of RedBalloon, shares her bootstrapping secrets.
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Ways To Kickstart Your Creativity
There are scientifically proven ways to train your brain to be more creative, at any time of day or night. How would you rate your own business when it comes to creativity and ...
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Management to do list Q4 2013-14: What you need to know now
Australian industry leaders keep you up to date with what you need to do this quarter.
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Top reads loved by 6 of the world's most influential leaders
We raid the bedside tables of the biggest and brightest in business to unlock their sources of motivation.
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Acquiring Good Business Sense
Adam Theobald, founder of Aussie startup and order-ahead app, Beat the Q whose service has processed more than 500,000 beverages and bought out one of the country’s most loved ...
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10 Business Leaders You Need To Follow On Twitter
When it comes to advice in 140 characters or less, these business people lead the charge in tweeting.
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Batten Down The Hatches: 5 Tips To Survive A PR Storm
Bad press does not discriminate among the size of a business – from a negative comment on Facebook to full-blown, damning headlines bad PR can happen to anyone. Here are some p...
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How To Build Your Own League Of Devoted Social Media Followers
Cameron Parker, Black Milk's head of marketing, shares his tips for growing your business just by using social media. From starting on founder and designer James Lillis’ kitche...
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Unholy Union? Marriage And Money
Delaying getting married can have a surprising effect on your income, as Ross Greenwood discovers. The topics of love and marriage seem to come together naturally. But if you w...
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Do A Branson: The Pros And Cons Of Personal Branding
There’s a lot of talk about the concept of personal branding. We get excited about Richard Branson’s exploits - space travel, bikini girls and balloon races. Should we all adop...
