News

It is with sadness that we report the passing of one of SBNG's founding members, Greg Lawrence, who passed away over the weekend, just after his 69^th birthday.

Greg, along with his wife Jill Meredith, loved his time with SBNG and frequented all group meetings regularly.  His business, based at Ettalong, was Talk'n Tours, producing downloadable audio tours and guides covering New Zealand and Australia.

The Committee of SBNG sends condolences to Greg's family and friends.

Another great presentation from Sarah Cook of Atlantix Studios this morning at Tuggerah - thank you Sarah 

To summarise :

1. You have approximately 7 seconds to make a good impression!  Potential clients are 35% more likely to engage a business that uses professional photography as opposed to stock imagery!
2. Your pro headshot represents both you AND your business - so makes sense that it be of the best possible quality
3. The photos you use on your marketing collateral represent you business just as much as your staff or the products and services you offer.  Low quality, amateurish photos reflect poorly on a business `
4. As well as having them take the logistical reins, using a professional photographer means you get their skills as well as lighting, equipment, editing and retouching It's a hassle-free solution that's worth the up-front cost.
5. Visual content plays such a big part in today's competitive landscape.  Professional photography is an invaluable asset for small businesses offering a range of benefits.

And there was so much more!  But the good news is that Sarah will be reviewing this presentation again later in the year - so if you missed out this time, you'll have an opportunity to catch her then

See you at our next meeting!

Paul Skene from Fintrans Pty Ltd gave an excellent presentation about Credit Scores and how to understand them followed up by a great round table discussion

If you want to meet like-minded business owners in your area check out our upcoming events: https://sbng.com.au/events

Another great meeting with the fantastic Bill Murch. The team had such a great time "Becoming a World Wizard". With the amount of audience participation we've had to rebook Bill for a part two in March.

Don't forget to download the free PDF for Word Tips & Tricks sent to your email

Hope to see all you guys again at the next meeting in Ettalong

Way back in the early days of SBNG, one of the meetings was held at the Zenith Building cafe under the direction of Patrick Zuluaga of PMZ Marketing  ...  so who best to see at our first meeting back in this area!  Great to see you again Patrick!

Yes, the Wyong Chapter has switched time / location and can now be found at Tuggerah Business Park on the 2nd Friday of the month.  The Cafe serves excellent coffee and a fair selection of breakfast temptations ...  just saying!

The focus of discussion today was around everyone's goals for the year and we had some 1:1 discussions before coming back together to talk about how to track one's progress. 

I wish I'd had my camera ready to catch Sarah Cook's face when Harrison Freeland was describing the detail he's broken his goals down to What a ️ picture !!

See you next time!

Nico

The Summer Break seems so long .... but now we are back!

And it was great to see 15 people around the table at our inaugural 2024 meeting at Ettalong.

This was a casual networking morning over breakfast. SBNG knows from past experience that members and visitors like the friendly atmosphere and having the time to chat and get to know each other.  Happy to provide!

May 2024 be a good one for everyone!

It was a Girls Morning at Wyong NexusHub on Monday 16th October and we all leaned into Jacqui Bilson's presentation about some of the key issues that come to the fore during marriage breakdowns.

Whether you work with people, or whether you have friends in the process of separation, you would have taken some gems from hearing Jacqui speak.  She's really passionate about her clients!

Some key issues she raised:

• Authorities - is your client authorised to instruct you without the other party?  Who will you contact if your client cannot contact you?
• Contravention - is your retainer subject to Court Orders or a Binding Agreement?
• Subpoenas - Are you at risk of being subpoenaed?
• Domestic Violence - is your client's life at risk?
• Fraud - a failure to disclose is fraudulent.  Are you at risk of being complicit?
• Limit risk - have you scoped your retainer?
• Timing - acquiring or disposing of assets (even after separation) will impact the property settlement

Jacqui has compiled a free Subpoena Compliance Guide and has plans for a How To Guide as well - watch this space!

And for co-parenting families who need help trying to plan their life around who's going where, when etc, why not get them a Christmas Gift with this amazing 2024 Coasties Family Calendar

For more information and support

Jacqui Bilson

https://bilsonlaw.com.au/

Friday 22nd September:

What a fantastic turn out!  With an astonishing total of 24 attendees, it was great to see so many visitors and members networking together this morning. 

Our Special Presentation today was given by Sarah Cook from Atlantix Studios who covered multiple key strategies and samples of successful marketing. Sarah also spoke about the impact that marketing has on small businesses and how to harness the power of affordable & functional advertising.

We concluded with a fun filled game of trivia based on Marketing and Advertising. Some answers we truly found interesting and the winners were gifted Atlantix Studios branded treat boxes.

What a fantastic and informative presentation Sarah! Well Done!

For more information on Sarah and the services she offers:

Website: https://atlantixstudios.com.au

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atlantixstudios/

Email:  info@atlantixstudios.com.au

Friday 25th August 2023

It was great to see some new faces mingled with our regular attendees for today's networking breakfast meeting.  We had a total of 18 people around that long table - and as this meeting becomes ever more popular we will be putting our heads together to make it more "user friendly" for hearing our speakers.  Definitely a quality problem to have.

Our Special Presentation today was from Ingrid Sjodahl who spoke about how to make a powerful impact with our personal photos and selfies.  Even those of us who felt a little clumsy and awkward with the idea of posing had a go with  some snaps in the foyer!

It's amazing how much functionality there is on a phone these days when it comes to editing photos - it certainly pays to pay attention on these activities!

Share your photos!  Let's see how good your 'selfies' are!!

For more information on Ingrid and the photo packages she offers:

Website: https://ingridphotography.com.au/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ingridphotography_brandyou/

Email:  hello@ingridphotography.com.au

Friday 4th August

We had a good turn out of members and visitors this morning at Bobby's Cafe, Ettalong Beach for our Peninsula Breakfast Meeting. Our special presentation was given by Mark Hanslow who covered off on some key points regarding two important insurance policies.

In brief, Professional Indemnity Insurance is a policy that any profession providing services or treatment for a fee should take out, and it covers you for financial losses incurred as a result of an error or omission by your business or a breach of your professional duty. Some key terms to look out for on the policy are Claims Made and Retroactive Date as these both impact the effectiveness of the cover.

Public Liability covers you against accidents which occur in your business, causing personal injury or property damage, such as slips/falls on your premises; damage to third party property; injury or damage caused by you or one of your employee's negligence and so on.

Mark shared several examples and there was some lively discussion on the topic.

For more information on insurance for your business contact 

Mark Hanslow

HANSLOW INSURANCE GROUP PTY LTD

E: mark@hanslowinsurance.com.au 

W:www.hanslowinsurance.com.au

PO Box 4102, Wagstaffe NSW 2257