Ever been faced with a bad review and wondered who wrote it? Milan Direct found Dean Ramler has encountered this problem time and time again, and then he started to notice a trend.
“Some of our competitors are stooping to very low levels and leaving fake reviews about our business online. We know this because the same account almost always leaves a five star and glowing review about their own business on the same day,” he says.
“This is the only way many think they can compete with us, but we don’t lose any sleep over it. Any company that we have found to do this, we proactively go out and find the exact same products they are selling and manufacture them ourselves, but happily sell them at cost price!”
The biggest lesson Vinomofo co-founder AndreEikmeier has learnt in the past few years is to set a bracket in order to achieve your desired negotiation outcome.
“One of the most important parts of any negotiation is establishing a range. Then the games begin within that range, to arrive at a number that works for both,” he says.
“But the establishment of what that range is – that’s the most important part. If they say one and you say three, you’re going to be haggling between those numbers and will probably end up somewhere close to two. If they say one and you say 10, even if 10 is ridiculous, you’re going to be haggling between those numbers and will probably end up somewhere closer to three.”
In the early 1990s Quinn interviewed for a senior position at a new job. At the time she felt she was ill-equipped, and let this feeling ruin her chances of getting the position.
“At the end of an enjoyable interview with a CEO of a big company in London, he leaned back in his chair and looked at me. ‘You’d either be absolutely BRILLIANT at this job…or BLOODY awful…and I can’t decide which’,” she says.
“In typical female fashion, I replied, ‘I know- I can’t decide either.’ He seemed to work out that it would be the latter outcome, and bade me farewell.”
Founder of renowned Melbourne restaurant David’s and the Oriental Teahouse chain, David Zhou started his restaurant by accident.
Originally Zhou had been content with a single table and chair so people could sample his tea before purchasing it, but in 1999 he was unable to secure a licence for the teahouse and he emerged as a restaurateur.
“I ended up with 100 seats and a fully licensed restaurant, David’s restaurant opening wasn’t intentional. It was just because a lady nearby told me I needed to get a permit for my table and chair,” he says.
“So I went to ask for one at the council and the man behind the counter asked me how many seats I wanted it for. I didn’t know, but he helped me work out I could have 100 seats… then my restaurant journey started.”
Hiring the right people is a common problem faced by business owners, and founder of Aged Foot Care Australia Damien James admits he used to hire “crap staff”.
“When I started my business all my colleagues told me I’d never attract great staff into aged care because the scope of practice was so limited. For the first few years I believed them and our service delivery suffered,” he says.
“Then I came to the realisation that by introducing excellent recruitment and retention programs and benefits for staff, I could make our company a great place to work – and that’s helped us attract a fabulous and committed team.”
For a while, James says he also valued his customers more than his team members.
“But I have learnt that if you take care of your team first, it makes them happy and in turn, they ensure our customers are happy,” he says.
“Shifting the focus to my team is our ‘secret sauce’ – and the outcome is that our customers are happier than ever. Opposite thinking has now become our competitive advantage.”
If you take your eye of the ball as a business owner, it can be a swift transition from booming business to financial ruin. Fortunately for Old Colonial Cookie Company owner Howard Dray he was able to turn around his fortunes.
“Things can start to go pear-shaped and it’s a reality check. In 2008 I’d been going for nine year and the business was booming, we had nearly 50/50 exports and local trade, but then the global financial crisis hit,” he says.
“We had no control over that… but it was a process call that something wasn’t working in the business. When something does go wrong you have to look at it, be honest with yourself and ask how, why and where.”
