Owner To Owner Podcast

Justin Costello runs Costello Rural https://www.costellorural.com.au/ in Corryong, Victoria. It a second-generation family business. He grew up in Corryong, went away and then came back to take over the business from his father.In this episode he shares his personal experiences as a business owner and talks openly about his experiences of the Corryong fires in 2020. We cover;building business skills by doing #apprenticeships and #workplacements with several valuation companies and real estate businesses that actually turned the light on to take my education furtherhis exposure to really strong business minds and mentorsthe handover of the family businesshis desire to reset after 2020, a roller coaster year, with the fires and then COVID.using technology to help business ownershow when you talk about implementing technology, you have got to bring staff along with youthe level of preparation for disasters in small business owners in regional and community areas@agriweb as a platform to make asset lists and tasks to minimize risk and so that you know where your assets are, where your water points are for fire trucks and have those that equipment serviced regularlythe critical importance of communication and asking are you okay? Do you need anything?the role of the local lion's club, the rotary, the church in lifting and communicating on that higher level to make sure there is no one slipping through the gaps#communityspiritwww.kerrcapital.com.au Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

Ben Lazzaro is CEO of Australian Made Campaign Limited  which administers the globally recognised Australian Made Logo. It's a very famous logo and a true mark of Aussie authenticity and has been around for 30 years. And right now it's more popular than ever and the opportunities for #SMEs are significant.Being Australian and making Australian products is generally a positive in most markets, including domestically, so when you're buying Australian made products you're getting products made to some of the highest standards in the world, and that's from a quality and a safety perspective. And in certain sectors that's never been more important than right now.Ben Lazzaro has a background in engineering, moved into doing marketing and communications for engineering and technical based firms and has been CEO since 2017 .In our discussion we talk about;How the Green & Gold Kangaroo does the heavy lifting  because it is unique to AustraliaThe Australian Made Logo as a  country of origin product certification trademark.How products are licensed to carry this brandThe criteria (set by Australian Consumer Law) and the laws that govern making a Made In Australian claimThe mechanics of the substantial transformation testThe cost of using the logo which is essentially 1/10 of 1% of the turnover of those productsHow the money raised gets pumped back into the campaign on compliance, auditing, things like that to protect the integrity of the brand, chase down misuse and the collective marketing campaignThe extremely pro Australian sentiment in the marketplace at the moment (which started  as the COVID pandemic starts to take hold) and the reasons behind thisSaving jobsThe imbalance between local and imported products and over reliance on importsThe massive (400%) growth in applications to use the Australian made logoThe simple process for applyingHow small businesses use the logoThe 34 classes of goods in Australia that can apply to use the brandHow #KidsClub ( teaching resources on our website) is growing the understanding of the positive attributes associated with buying AustralianThe upside in Australia's clean great environmentEthical labor and sustainability.The research that found around 87% globally knew that this thing (the logo) meant there was an Australian produc and that even if they don't know our brands specifically, they know it's Australian, they know it's green and goldThe business opportunities and using the kangaroo in social media to grow a global audienceThe opportunities domestically with 99% of Australians recognising and 92% trusting products carrying the Australian Made Logo#manufacturingsovereignty #selfsufficiencyInvesting in our local manufacturing capability - something that is a positive outcome from Covid-19 for Australian manufacturing with that focus on sovereignty, and self sufficiency, potentially giving Australian manufacturing be a bit of a positive 'jab in the arm'The renewed focus from government, and a lot of funding, to generate manufacturing and manufacturing 4.0How smaller manufacturers that will benefit from the fact that we're going to invest in skills hereOpportunities in electric cars, electric busesHow Volvo Trucks in Queensland is turning out 60,000 trucks carrying Australian made logo with, I think, half a dozen sites out there in Waco, Brisbanewww.kerrcapital.com.auhttps://australianmade.com.au/#Australianmade #madeinAustralia#growninAustralia #productofAustralia#Australianmadelogo#thegreenandgoldkangaroo#globalconsumers #qualityproduce    Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

Blake Hutchison, CEO of flippa.com explains why it's critical that small business owners own their digital real estate. And he gives us a host of smart ideas to make it happen.Before being CEO @ www.flippa.com he ran www.luxuryescapes.com.au and worked in a senior role at www.xero.com.au (small business accounting software in the cloud).Flippa is a marketplace to buy and sell digital assets or digital real estate including  #eCommerce businesses #contentsites #blogs, #fbabusinesses backed by Amazon #Amazonstores #Amazonassociates #contentsites #apps. All of it is  #digitalrealestate. And all these assets can be bought or sold on #flippa.In our discussion we talk about;how important it is to be digitally up to speedhow without a digital presence today you are really limiting opportunities because it is the way that consumers, either business or in consumers, individuals, will now first engage with a brand and more often than not, it is their pathway to choosing a business be that the local cafe all the way through to the local landscape architect, all the way through to an Etsy shop selling handmade furniture. So, you have to be onlinehow digital is now more accessible than ever before to consumerswhy it is also a lot easier than ever before for first-time digital entrepreneurs to either get started or to accelerate growth in their business through a first-time digital presence. And that is because everyone from #Google to #Facebook to #Amazon to #ATT, #YouTube to #WooCommerce to #WordPress have made these platforms readily accessible at a good pricewhy it makes sense for an offline traditional #rick-and-mortar or #servicebusiness to acquire a small digital asset to complement their #useracquisitionwhy your website is your best way to appeal to people who have never heard of you, and then advertising channels like Facebook and Google are your best and most cost-efficient way to get people to that website and then funnel them through to your brick-and-mortar offering and so what that boils down to is #audiencetargetinghow and when to best use the following 3 #platforms which are all affordable and available to anyone. And you do not need to be too technically savvy to get any one of those up and going.#Shopify if you are looking to trade online, or#Squarespace if you are looking to just have a footprint online that people can move to and find out more about your business address, your phone number, a little bit about what you are servicing, and what you provide, or#WordPress to set up a blog if you are going to write some columns and about the services you providethe good news for the less #techsavvy - you can outsource that work to someone very very cost-efficiently and you can do that through platforms like #Fiverr #Elance #oDesk and other platforms like themwhy you should study your #competitors to help with running your business and getting the best #ROI on your outsourcing investment by #stackranking the ones that you think are best and the ones that you think best represent what you are trying to achieve. Drop those by way of a brief onto one of these freelancing platforms and get someone to deliver that for youacquiring customers with budgets as low as $10 a day on a Facebook or Google to see what works for youhow to buy the right #digitalassets by using tools like the #SEMrush module on www.flippa.com - it helps to assess domain authority in the eyes of Google i.e. is it a credible website, getting credible traffic and with credible trafficthe value of #organictraffic where people want to read the contentwhy you absolutely want to own your own real estate. Facebook is a great engagement platform, but it is not yours. You do not own it. The quicker you can get a customer from that environment into your own, the better off you will be long-termkey trends in the buying & selling of digital assets;why you are better off buying than you are starting. With the failure rate of a startup so high you can assess the success of a business that has a trading history, so therefore it it can be a safer opportunity for many people.#unemployed looking to get into the digital economy for the very first time#sophisticatedinvestors entering the space to buy micro assets - @blakehutchison has never seen anything like it! #privateequity and other #sophisticatedinvestors are amassing and aggregating small digital assets. So they are no longer looking for things that are $5, $10, $50, or a hundred million dollars to buy. Many of them are buying supporting businesses to bolt on to existing assets.www.kerrcapital.com.au     Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

Hunter Leonard talks to @smallbusinessbanter about how and why he started www.silverandwise.com.au.In the episode we cover;The ageism brick wall and the frustration of a job searchThe different ways Western and Eastern cultures value their eldersWhy it's time for mature aged workers to take control and how, even if they may not see it clearly, that they have value to addThe need to improve self awareness to help identify and better promote your 'hidden' value and skillsWhy finding your purpose is so critical and how it can lead to being happier and healthierThe upside of adopting a 'small business owner' mindsetResearch from the https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/age-discrimination which Hunter has analysed.  In summary he says  that major barriers start to appear for people in the 45 to 50 year age group, and worryingly even earlier for womenHow the gig economy and freelancing  are outstanding opportunities to build an income around a lifestyleWhere starting up or buying an existing business fits in to the 'self employment' pictureThe weird and wonderful assumptions made about mature aged peopleAnd I said, well, I do not really care what age they are, as long as they can do the job. And they're interested in being part of ours, our group.www.smallbusinessbanter.comwww.kerrcapital.com.au  Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

Mick, Mat and all of the management team sort of got tired of the corporate lifestyle. The thought "how do we come out and actually live our life with purpose and develop a company that excites us to get out of bed every day?". This was why The Village Co. www.thevillageco.com.au was born. It is now based in regional New South Wales. They are on a mission to create a positive future for local communities by combining creative people with the latest technology to design innovative solutions that disrupt the food service industry.Their Virtual Supply Chain (VSC) product is an artificial intelligence backed supply chain solution that enables small businesses to compete with big businesses.Right now, they are working in the retail butcher's sector. They have branded that platform Butchers United and are looking to unlock the value and the potential in the three thousand odd retail butchers around the country. Mick and Mat cover;Their planned disruption of the foodservice industryThe limitations for small farmers and producers of the incumbent, large business dominated supply chainThe future of local-to-local salesThe tech and logistic solutions they are developing to give small farmers and producers the confidence and support to grow their product salesThe extraordinary lengths they went to understand the retail butcher industry - they bought a butcher shop and ran it themselves to properly understand the challenges and opportunitiesMaking the most of the large amount combined infrastructure that small business owns through providing accessible techThe consumer lead move to 'shop local'How food provenance is reshaping buying habitsTheir program to link growers of indigenous products into their own logistic networkTheir own personal challenges in getting their start-up running and funded  Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

Mick Hase runs 3 businesses. Common to all 3 is the importance of culture, connection, purpose, leadership and people management to create business models that inspire people to do good.As the founder of SEVENTEENx @seventeen_sdg he organises events that help businesses more fully engage with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. If you haven't heard of the 17 UN SDG's or don't fully understand the business opportunities they are creating them listen to our discussion as Mick covers;An overview of the SDG'sHow small business can play a part in tackling huge global challengesThe holy grail of having a purpose that lines up personally and professionally and that get's you out of bed each dayThe consumer led changes that are demanding businesses engage with consumers in new waysHow creating sustainable change is a real opportunity for us in businessThe opportunities in regional communities for community-driven outcomesCreating a better strategy through connection to things like the UN SGD's rather than chasing just the bottom line all the timeHow lot's of businesses are already working with the 17 UN SGD's but aren't conscious of itThe over-use of labelling of business types and business strategies that actually inhibit small businesses and entrepreneurs getting on with making an impactGreenwashing and MillenialsHis 3 steps to get you startedJump onto www.globalgoals.org  to learn more about the Global GoalsPick off some 'low hanging fruit' - put some recycling bins in your office. Get rid of plastic where you can. Look at your recruitment strategy and make sure that you're bringing equality through your business. You will start to feel good about it and the snowball effect start thereFor anyone that is running a team, give it to your team. show them the goals. Tell them that you want to create some change and give it to them to empower them to go and make it happen within your business because the cultural change that you will witness in your business and the absolute ownership and the core values that will get created out of it and the willingness to really run with it from your team will absolutely flourish throughout the rest of your business and you will notice, you know, a more engaged, hyper-aware team will create results within their position description so to speak. So, give it to your team and let them run with it because it is such a great thing to watchExamples of small businesses working with the UN SDG'swww.b1g1.com/businessforgoodwww.bambuddhagroup.com (The Corporate Kindness Network)www.teaspoonsofchange.org (Activating and aligning business, education and government with the Global Goals) Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

Rachel Power and her family moved to Tasmania a few years back and now own Waterfalls Café & Gallery http://www.waterfallscafe.com.au/, in the Mount Field National Park. They are just about to embark on a new venture - the Mount Field Retreat, a multimillion-dollar accommodation and conference center.https://parks.tas.gov.au/explore-our-parks/mount-field-national-parkShe admits it's a big step but knows also it's a game-changer for her  local community.As a family they had started their first business, the Great Aussie Road Trip (a blog), while on a road-trip around Australia.The decision to move to Tasmania was an extension of the family's openness to another adventure in a place they all loved and thought had great potential. In our discussion with Rachel we cover;The story behind a round-Australia family trip and the creation of a family businessTraveling as a family and the opportunities that can bringWorking with family in small businessThe potential she saw in Tasmania and especially the Mount Field National ParkThe quick and instinctive decision to pack up and head to Tasmania, an how they all ruled out other places to move toBuying their existing businessTaking calculated risksThe early and ongoing challenges of running a regional business and the  strategies used to overcome themLocal businessLocal arts and produceTasmanianCreating local employment and prosperity to keep regional towns viableThe upside of treechanges and seachangesThe upside of working with local artists and producersThe value of getting involved in local community groupsThe importance of collaboration between local businesses and local communities Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

Theo Williams is a Director and CEO of www.localised.com which is a local business discovery tool and helps owners to buy from sell to, and partner with other owners.He works with government and locally focused corporates. to build and activate business owner communities and to build resilience and grow micro-economies.Localised was his first business. Six years on Theo talks to us about the ride and shares with us;How a move to the regions prompted the original idea for LocalisedThe stuff up's, the learnings, the successesThe pathway that led to finding the right product-market fit for the businessThe massive opportunity for local businesses to do more business locallyThe benefits to local communities from connecting local buyers and sellersThe evolution of the Localised platform How connection and networking are still so critical for small business ownersHow he is encouraging the takeup of digital technologies and services to build resilience in small businesses  Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

Andrea Roberts www.andrearoberts.com.au transforms places through original ideas backed by accessible strategic planning frameworks and the type of story-telling that moves people.She has worked across Australia from Broken Hill, to the northern rivers of New South Wales, to the Yarra Valley, to the Dandenong Ranges, the Great Ocean Road, Melbourne, and now Adelaide.In this episode we chat to Andrea about;Her absolute respect for culture and environment as the pillars on which we all standHer sense that the current challenges are creating a greater sense of community and sense of placeHow this is impacting tourismThe way people travel and what they are looking for The need for authenticity in their experiencesHow we live in and engage with our communities The resurgence in interest in home gardening, and sharing and gathering in the streets and walking in the parksThe sense of community and really strong identity in regional Australia How to successfully engage all the stakeholders for change in local communities  The renewed need for collaboration vs competitionThe importance of brand and understanding what you as a business or place really stand forHarnessing the true emotional capacity of places to unleash latent potential   Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

Mark Horwood grew up in a farming family and so he understands life in the regions. He had been involved in a number of businesses before starting Captivate Connect https://www.captivateconnect.com/From Perth they now supply telephony and phone system to businesses right throughout the country. Mark thinks their success is down to "the big telcos not being that flash at giving good service". In this episode we discuss;How essential the phone still is to many regional businessesCustomer serviceWhy customers still value a human interaction via a phoneUsing 'on-hold' time to increase sales and create a  better customer experiencePractical ways for business owners to use telco to better run their businessesWhere and when 5G will be available in regional AustraliaHow Australia effectively led the world in on-hold messagingThe potential for using Artificial Intelligence in everyday small businesses Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au