CEO January Update

Welcome to our first 2010 E –Update. On behalf on the staff and the Directors of Basi, I would like to wish you a happy & prosperous New Year. As we are conscious of the need to keep you informed of current business issues & happenings within Basi, we will be forwarding this E update on a monthly basis.   To begin the year, we have the first in our 2010 Business Breakfast Series. On the 3rd February 2010 Matt and Liz Raad from How to buy & sell a business, will share with us “Simple Ways To Increase The Value And Profit In Your Business Using The Internet”. Robyn Henderson, Global Networking Specialist, the “Queen of Networking” has agreed to be our speaker for our March Breakfast. Our April speaker is Jon Pralett ,author of “Rich Talk, Poor Talk”, Jon’s topic for the breakfast is “Sound Leadership – Doing more with Less”. Please note that the dates for both our March and April Breakfasts will change to the second Wednesday of the month. Our last Business Breakfast completely sold out 24 hours prior to the event so click here for more information on the February Breakfast and book your ticket now.

Operating a business requires us to be abreast of many issues. As Business operators we usually  need this information on the run. To assist our members, we have introduced “The Hub” which are monthly two hour workshops where we will present interactive training on a variety of issues .Of course, attendance at these workshops will also provide networking opportunities for your business. Please see the Events Calendar at the bottom of this email.

For those businesses under 2 years we have introduced the Beyond Basic Mentoring program, this is a flexible mentoring program where you choose your own pathways. This program is combined with a series of Business Skills Workshops & other incentives for our established businesses. Acknowledging that the needs of established business are different from the start up phase, we are  about to role out a series of workshops specifically targeted at this sector. We will launch the Master Class program in March 2010.

I am also pleased to announce that we may now be able to assist you in obtaining unsecured, low interest business loans of between $500 and $20,000 through NAB Microenterprise Loan. The loan is only part of the assistance provided in this initiative.  Through the support of our organisation, eligible applicants will get access to business skills, training and advice during the first year of operating their business. Click here for full details on the NAB Microenterprise Loan.

As you should all be aware on the 1st January, 2010 the new Fair Work Act Laws came into force. Click here to see what Nicholas Wilson, The Fair Work Ombusman, has to say and where you can get information for support to Business Owners and free workshops on offer from the  NSW Department of Industrial Relations.

I  also wish to draw your attention to the Grants available to the Innovative Textile, Clothing & Footwear Industry Business sector. Grants worth $2.5 million are being made available to this industry, applications close on February 26. Click here for more information.

You will notice that we have introduced an administration fee of our core workshops .I am sure you will appreciate that like you we are operating a business and have commitments and salaries to pay.

Below is our current events calendar, click here for more information on any of these events and to register online.

I hope to see you at our next networking event

David Baumgarten

Chief Executive Officer