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.
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’...
This workshop examines a range of digital marketing options, including social media, email marketing and blogging, to help you understand what would work for your business.
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 15,000 member mark, and has proved to be a highly appreciated asset for small business owners to...
In many local government authorities, compliance officers spend time dealing with applications in which a small business has signed a lease agreement before contacting staff to discuss if the premise is fit for purpose. Unfortunately, applicants sometimes find that in order to meet regulatory requirements, they face unanticipated costs and extended...
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...
Many small business owners are unaware that they may be required to obtain various local government approvals for their new premises, to ensure they are operating in compliance with the relevant planning, building and health legislation. Here’s how to avoid costly and disruptive mistakes. It’s an exciting time for your business. You have a strong...
Lou Corteen’s journey into the world of food manufacturing began with a simple compliment. “A friend raved about my Green Tomato Chutney and told me I should sell it. I thought, ‘Yeah, OK, that’s what I’m going to do,” Lou recalls with a laugh. From that spark, Urban Forager was born, starting as a small venture at local farmers markets. Lou’s...
Are you finding that your payment reminders are being met with excuses? It’s a common scenario many business owners are experiencing. Here at the SBDC, we often hear from small business owners, particularly subcontractors in the construction industry, who say they are struggling to be paid on time. But when the only ‘evidence’ of a contract is...
Are you finding it hard to work out how much you should be charging for your services? One of the most common questions we’re asked by new business owners is how much should they be charging per hour for their services. There are a number of factors to consider when setting an hourly rate. Here are our top tips if you are running a service-based...
