Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and now www.winjje.com are all social media sites. Many businesses are now embracing the new social media craze with the view of promoting their business online - how and at what cost?

Most social media sites are free to join and some may have upgrades that provide more features such as Linkedin. You now have to reply to messages, seek new contacts, post useful information and then maintain your profile online. Time is a big factor here; having a social media presence will add many more hours to your ever increasing list of things to do each day.

You will get emails or messages from people all over the world and it is essential that you keep your site updated with new things appearing regularly. All of a sudden you have to be constantly updating your content, develop new marketing strategies and in some cases you may need to learn basic web design skills. Then you also have to keep up with the ever increasing features for social media sites. Does this sound like it is getting too complex? While it is free to use most social media sites, people often forget their time is worth money. Your commercial hourly rate is not being billed whilst you are maintaining your social media sites; so when you consider this you might be surprised at just how expensive it is. This is a hidden cost that many businesses fail to take into consideration.

Social media can add value to your online marketing especially if it is done well. The benefits of sites like Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin are numerous. They can bring in new clients; keep existing clients updated with news about your business, promote link building to your website and much more.

The most valuable advantage of social media is that you can now interact with your clients and potential clients. This is one area of marketing that is very new as many people have traditional marketing strategies that don’t allow customer interaction 24/7. A good example is Central Coast Savvy Singles who use Twitter to announce their events to their followers. www.twitter.com/savvysingles.

Social media by nature allows a two-way communication between your business and your customers. Social media allows customers to react to what your business offers without having to listen to any of the hype that has always been a part of traditional marketing. Customers can voice their concerns and provide you with valuable feedback at any time 24/7.

Webstuff.biz is pleased to announce our new service for businesses to outsource their social media requirements.

Each business will be assessed on exactly what is required and will be allocated a specialised person that is suitable for their specific requirements. For an affordable monthly fee, the pressure to keep your social media profiles properly updated and maintained can now be outsourced to a specialised person.

Interested? Call us now to discuss your needs. There is no high pressure selling and you are not under any obligations.

Please join us on our Facebook page.

Information provided by: The Test 'N' Tag Man

Test and Tagging is the process of ensuring the legal requirements of checking all electrical tools, leads and appliances are met. This process ensures your business remains safe for you, your employees, customers, tenants and others according to workplace OH&S requirements and Australian Standards. Every item that plugs into a power point should be included in a regular inspection program.

All electrical equipment in hostile environments must be tested and tagged by a competent person. A competent person is someone who has acquired the knowledge and skill to perform the task. This knowledge can be obtained through training, qualification or experience. All tests must be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Australian Standards. All unsafe appliances must be repaired, replaced or permanently removed from use.

Testing and tagging also help to avoid electrical faults in equipment. These are the greatest causes of electrical fires. Not only is human life at risk from electrical leakage but property and assets are at risk from electrical fires that could be prevented.

As a business you need to be able to prove compliance. The person carrying out your Test and Tagging should provide you with documentation that demonstrates every test conducted and the physical results of those tests. This documentation can also be used as an ‘assets register’ as it records details such as make, model and serial number. This can be used by police to identify stolen equipment.

A well planned program of preventative maintenance, with regular safety checks at its core, is the optimum way to avoid needless and tragic accidents as well as the legal and financial consequences that follow.

Are you owed money for goods and/or services you have provided?

Daniel owns a business that supplies goods and services. Daniel has recent followed up all of his clients with outstanding accounts. The period for payment has since expired, and while some clients have paid, there are still a number of clients from whom Daniel has not received payment.

Options that may be available to Daniel include:-

1. A persuasive Letter of Demand indicating the legal consequences should they fail to respond;
2. A letter suggesting mediation or expert appraisal or another method of resolving the dispute such as a payment arrangement; or
3. Commence legal proceedings immediately. Depending on the debt involved, this may include filing a Statement of Claim with the Court and/or serving a Statutory Demand on the debtor.

Aubrey Brown Partners can advise you and your business as to the most appropriate option when monies are owed for goods and/or services that you have provided. We are able to discuss all of the options – both legal and non-legal, go through the advantages and disadvantages, provide an assessment of the merits, and set out the costs of each of the options.

Aubrey Brown Partners is able to deal with your matter in ways that are proportionate to the amount of money involved, to the complexity of the issues, and to the financial position of each of the parties.

If you would like to discuss your options contact Aubrey Brown Partners’ Litigation Department on (02)4350 3333.

written by Michael O'Brien

John worked 50 to 60 hours per week in his own business for over 30 years. He was in his 50’s and looked forward to his retirement at some stage, but didn’t know how to achieve this. On our advice, he was able to sell the major part of his business and by using capital gains tax concessions, was able to receive all the proceeds tax free. He invested the bulk of the funds in a superannuation fund, draws a non taxable pension and now plays golf two days a week and looks after his grandchildren one day a week.

How did we go about lifestyle planning for John?

• Assessed his existing lifestyle.
• Quantified his cash flow needs.
• Valued his business.
• Examined the tax implications of selling his business and researched the tax concessions available upon retirement.
• Assisted in the sale by producing a five year analysis of his profit and loss statement excluding any income or expenses not relating to his normal business operations.

Lifestyle planning is becoming a priority in our everyday lives. Nowadays, life expectancy is in the 80’s, so if we retire at 65, we have another 18 years to live.

Lifestyle planning should not only be restricted to retirement. What if I am only 30 years old and have another 35 years in business?

• Assess your existing lifestyle.
• Quantify your cash flow needs in retirement.
• Ensure your business structure will allow tax concessions from your retirement.
• Ensure you are paying the minimum tax possible.

The important thing is to plan your lifestyle, talk to someone who can review your situation and provide a different perspective. If you want to plan your lifestyle, contact Michael O'Brien at our office on 4396 4322.

written by Dale Brax

No matter what the topic, a well put together PowerPoint presentation will help you get the message across.

Here are some tips for creating a presentation that can assist.

• Don't write your presentation into bullet points for your audience to read, people will read faster than you speak. The bullet points should be a reference only.
• Keep the text large, 44 is a good starting point. Use colour, quality photos and video files. Try to avoid using the clipart especially pre 2007. PowerPoints sounds for transitions are also a no no.
• If you insert a movie file into PowerPoint it doesn't embed into the presentation it is linked, therefore take a copy of your presentation with any movies, audio files, pictures or graphs you have used.
• If there is an audio visual technician available, have them run your presentation through to ensure it all runs well, even some AV suppliers don’t keep drivers and codecs up to date.
• Be aware that if you create presentation from a Mac and run it on a Windows based PC images from the photo library or fonts may be lost. Better still use your Mac and Mac’s version of PowerPoint, it's called Keynote. It is far better.

Finally, there is nothing more important than rehearsal, time it and do it out loud.

written by Rod Wicks

Estate Planning is the process of planning and recording wishes for the distribution of wealth after death. A common misconception is that this refers only to the preparation of a Will. It is rarely so simple as many aspects of Estate Planning, such as dealing with Family Trust assets, superannuation and jointly held assets, require planning going beyond a Will.

Every family is different and there will often be unique issues that need to be addressed such as:

• special treatment necessary for a family member because of disability, addiction or other health issues;
• jewellery, family heirlooms, antiques and the like, needing to be dealt with specifically;
• business interests;
• family circumstances, as with blended families arising from second or third relationships;
• potential challenges to the Will; and
• the existence of a self managed superannuation fund or other

Trust Structure

Estate Planning is not for just the rich but affects all of us regardless of our circumstances. To leave our heads in the sand is a sure fire way to create the potential for emotional and legal trauma for our successors.

Aubrey Brown Partners
(Tel: 4350 3333) advises on how best to structure asset ownership and minimise exposure to risk.

Whether intentionally or not, within the first 5 minutes of meeting someone, we form an opinion of who they are and what they are like. How we portray ourselves to others when we first meet can stay with us a very long time!

Similarly, your business projects a 'corporate image'- the look and feel of the business to potential customers. Your corporate image explains what you do and positions you against your competitors. There are a few simple things you can do to ensure you are projecting the right image:

• Your business name is important. Is it telling the right story? It should be a simple description, clever, memorable, ideally a combination of all three.
• A company logo is an excellent tool for carrying a unique theme through your business and is the essence of a good corporate image.
• A strong corporate colour is essential. It needs to be used consistently in everything you do, particularly promotional material.
• You should have a tag line - a few simple words that make a statement about your business, it should be short and sharp.
• Finally, your corporate headquarters or office. Whether you own it or lease it, your business premises project a corporate image. What kind of image would be projected if your business occupied a 1970's building which has never had an interior refit or external renovation? It is easy to get used to your surroundings and not realise that over the years your work environment has become tired and outdated.

Every 5 years you should ask yourself 'Does our office accurately reflect the corporate image we want to project?'

At Project Works Design, we can design an upgrade of your existing premises or a completely new building that accurately reflects your corporate image. By using architectural features and your corporate colours we can transform the image of your premises.

If you would like to discuss the possibilities, please call Graham Mann on 0412 637 875.

Project Works Design Pty Ltd - Architecture, Interior Design
Project Management.