Two Bankstown food manufacturers, Brancourts Cheese and Sunshine Meats, have recently received national recognition for excellence. 

Yagoona-based dairy company, Brancourts, is one of two finalists in the 2015 Australian Grand Dairy Awards (AGDA) for its Greek Style Natural Yoghurt.

Milperra-based Sunshine Meats has just won the Australian Pork Corporation’s 2014 award for Best Artisan Ham – just in time for Christmas!

2014 has been an award-winning year for Sunshine Meats, which took out Best Business and Best Delicatessen/Gourmet Food in the Bankstown Local Business Awards, and a Silver Medal in the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW’s Fine Food Awards.

If you wish to enjoy some of Australia’s finest foods this festive season, look no further than Bankstown!

To place your order or obtain further information on these two companies, go to:

• www.brancourts.com.au
399 Hume Highway, Yagoona NSW 2199
Phone: 9709 5799

• www.sunshinemeats.com.au
360 Horsley Rd, Milperra NSW 2214
Phone: 02 9774 5543
Email: info@sunshinemeats.com.au

Independent tyre retail chain Tyrepower is working with TAFE Western Sydney to ensure that its employees give the highest levels of service to its customers.

An innovative training program has been designed to provide the best fit for Tyrepower, combining Tyrepower’s internal training with recognised TAFE qualifications. Training includes areas such as tyre management, steering and suspension.

Tyrepower Education and Development Manager Michael Vassallo said that the collaboration with TAFE Western Sydney allows them to ensure that employees are suitably qualified and skilled.

“Training plays a very important role in professionalising our workforce and we are privileged to be able to work with a training organisation which has taken the time to understand our needs and work with us for a solution,” Michael said.

“Through this training we can ensure there is a consistency in the skills being developed by employees across our Group which spans Australia and New Zealand.”

Automotive Head Teacher Mike Cochrane said that the collaboration will allow Tyrepower to stand out in the market.

“Qualified and suitably skilled staff are increasingly a selling point in the automotive market. Customers are expecting more and will keep coming back if they are well catered to and have confidence in their service providers. This is a great initiative from Tyrepower and we are excited to be a part of it.”

Why some businesses don’t survive or ever reach their potential, and other’s do

Why do most small business owners fail to achieve the success they dreamed about and end up virtually trapped in their businesses, struggling with long working hours and mediocre results?

The statistics* relating to small and medium sized businesses indicates that running your business successfully is extremely challenging:

· The average working hours for Australian business owners is 56 hours per week
· 60% to 80% of businesses cease to exist within five years of start-up
· 46% of all business owners make less than $100,000 per year

From our experience, business owners make several critical mistakes that limit their success and business survival:

· Short-term focus on “fire-fighting” rather than focus on what’s important
· Reactive sales & marketing tactics
· Lacking understanding and control of key performance indicators
· Ineffective delegation to staff due to lack of business structure

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Matt Grainger from Manly Surf School is a client of ours who is overcoming these odds and creating the life that he dreams of for himself, his clients and his team. Manly Surf School are about to be featured all over the world on BBC Online.

If you want to be inspired by someone who is not trapped in his business, watch this spine-tingling 4 minute video of Matt sharing his heartfelt story of building the surf school and their plans for the future… it may just help you look at your own business in a new light.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RG3VooXw18A

Do you relate to any of the issues or scenarios above? What about some of your business colleagues? Everyone who attends Gallop Discovery walks away saying either:

“I was inspired to take action to improve my approach to business as it isn’t working how I dreamed it would” or “I wish I had come along sooner, I’m going to tell all my business colleagues about it”

We’d love share more with you and your associates about the tools that have helped over 200 clients in the last three and a half years to help you understand that there is a way to create the business AND the life you dream of!

To book on to the next Gallop Discovery click here – as an existing friend of Gallop Solutions, your tickets to Gallop Discovery are complimentary for you and your associates by using this link.

Novotel Sydney Parramatta was proud last week to officially unveil and launch the completion of their recent mega refurbishment to all 11 multi-purpose conference and event spaces.

Following the accommodation rooms refurbishment last year, this conference refurbishment sees a complete overhaul including installation of new wall panels, carpeting, state of the art AV equipment, banquet tables and furnishings across two levels of conference and event spaces that open into the sunlit atrium.

Michael Daviss, General Manager of Novotel Sydney Parramatta said, "I am looking forward to being able to deliver a fantastic new meeting and events product to our loyal client base and new business partners.” 

Cr Scott Lloyd, Lord Mayor of Parramatta said, “These refurbished conference facilities reflect the growing importance of Parramatta as a business destination. It cements Parramatta’s role within Sydney as a viable alternative for business functions. Novotel Sydney Parramatta has also refurbished its rooms to make it more attractive to stay and experience the many other activities such as Eat Street, Riverside Theatre, Rosehill Gardens Racecourse, heritage and sporting events that Parramatta and Western Sydney offers.”

The official launch on Thursday 4 December was graced by Cr Lloyd as well as local Member of Parliament Dr Geoff Lee. Other guests include representatives from Parramatta City Council, Western Sydney Business Connection, Parramatta Chamber of Commerce, NSW Business Chamber, Riverside Theatre, Ronald McDonald House Westmead and Western Sydney Business Access. 

More photographs of the event at:

http://www.novotelparramatta.com.au/gallery-en.html

Sydney Showground is proud to have played a major part in November’s IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) World Parks Congress 2014. This once in every ten years event showcased Sydney Olympic Park’s extensive sustainability credentials.

The international forum on environmental conservation saw delegates from 170 countries, including five Heads of State and one Vice President, converge on Sydney Olympic Park’s 430 hectares of parklands gathering to share knowledge and set the agenda for conserving the world’s natural heritage. 

The main collective outcome of the Congress is referred to as the Promise of Sydney – a four pillared approach, including a vision, approach, solutions and promises, to solve some of the world’s most elusive sustainability challenges and create a promising future for generations to come.

“Since undergoing its land regeneration project from a former brickworks, abattoir and rubbish dump to prepare for the ‘Green Games’ in 2000, Sydney Olympic Park has remained committed to a sustainable approach. Today, Sydney Olympic Park is home to 400 native plants, 200 native animal species and a range of alternative energy generation, waste and water recycling and sustainability solutions,” said Alan Marsh, CEO Sydney Olympic Park Authority.

IUCN World Parks Congress 2014 Quick Stats:

• More than 6000 participants
  
• Five heads of state, one Vice President
  
• 170 countries
  
• 15 international environment ministers
  
• 7 heads of United Nations organisations
  
• 6 Australian ministers and Senators
  
• 320 delegates registered to participate in Sydney Olympic Park specialist delegate excursions / technical tours.
  
• Total of 2670 room nights at Accor hotels at Sydney Olympic Park
  
• An estimated $34.2m of economic activity injected into NSW
  

Furthermore, Sydney Showground ensured that all napkins, cups, plates, bowls and cutlery were all made from recycled products and once used, put into specific re-cycling bins at the end of each day. On top of this, each Delegate was informed they must reduce the amount of printing material and to only use recycled products for the Congress – there was no hard copy program created for the event; there were also bicycles for hire to get around the venue to help cut down on the use of fossil fuels.

With Christmas fast approaching it is useful to remember that the Fringe Benefits Tax (“FBT”) minor benefits exemption threshold remains at $300. With this in mind, the value of minor and infrequent rewards and gifts that can be provided to your employees without you as the employer incurring any FBT liability is quite significant.

How much can I spend at our next Christmas party without incurring any FBT liability? 
 

The provision of a gift at the Christmas party, while treated as an associated benefit of the dinner, is considered separately in determining whether the minor exemption threshold applies. If the value of the Christmas party and the gift to the employee is less than $300 each, then both are considered to be exempt benefits.

Note: the exemption only applies to employers who adopt the actual method of accounting for entertainment expenditure for the FBT year, which requires actual costs of the provision of the entertainment to be recorded.

Note: These rules do not apply to tax exempt bodies.

What if I haven’t kept sufficient records to use the actual method?

It isn’t too late to implement policies and procedures to enable you to capture your entertainment expenditure so that you have alternative methods to determine your FBT liability at 31 March 2015. The 12-week register method allows you to determine a ‘register percentage’ to be applied against your total entertainment expense for the year.

How can Moore Stephens help?

Moore Stephens assists with procedures and tools you need to efficiently capture your entertainment expenditure.

Should you have any queries in relation to this matter, please do not hesitate to contact:

Remember when you were in high school?  How impossible it seemed to juggle assignments, homework, hobbies, family, friends and maybe even a part time job?  Wouldn’t it have been great to have someone who was prepared to give you their undivided attention to help you learn how to manage everything and make life less stressful?

You may not have had that opportunity, but thanks to the Castle Hill RSL Club, young adults will have that opportunity in 2015 through the Max Potential personal leadership program. Now in its 7th year in the Hills District, we are inviting members of the community and businesses to join this dynamic and life-changing program. We are currently looking for professionals, community leaders and others interested in making a difference in the life of a young adult – to be trained as a leadership community coach.

Max Potential is focused on personal leadership development and is an innovative program considered a best practice in developing young leaders of the future and is gaining momentum in communities all around NSW. Max Potential runs over 22 weeks between March and August where year 11 students from local High Schools across the Hills District are awarded Club and corporate partner scholarships. 

The program is unique in that it matches business professionals, service providers and community leaders that have a heart to make a difference and a young adult.  Coaches put in time and energy into helping their young adult gain a sense of achievement and a taste of what is like to help others through leadership.   

Young adults and coaches have 8 face to face coaching sessions (at school) and attend 3 group workshops held at the Club.  Over the 22 weeks, they work with their coach on setting and achieving goals, learning how the 10 MAXIMISERS™ principles for success can help them achieve their goals. Each young adult identifies a need in the community and with the help of their coach, brainstorms ideas to create an action plan to help meet that need.  Each young adult then leads their Community Service Project through to completion.  

The program concludes with a Showcase event that allows the young adults to set up a display stand of what they have learned throughout their journey and to talk to VIPs and guests about their Community Service Plan.

We are inviting members of the community who would like to invest in the next generation (Yr 11 Young Adults) whilst learning and gaining key skills in being a Coach to apply to be a Community Coach in 2015. 

If you would like to apply or would like further information please contact Melanie Morson (Group Marketing Manager CHRSL) on:

P: 8858 4818

W: www.max-potential.com.au and click on http://www.castlehillrsl.com.au/about/max-potential

Christmas is giving.

Newslocal and Castle Hill RSL have joined forces this Christmas to brighten the lives of the kids in the Children’s Hospital Westmead.

A hospital spokesperson said, “We are delighted that Castle Hill RSL is so generously running this toy drive for our patients at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. Spending Christmas in hospital is tough but we know that these gifts will help put a smile on the children’s faces. From all of us here at the hospital, we’d like to say a warm thank you in advance to everyone who supports this toy drive and to the staff at the club as well.”

Massive toy boxes have been installed in the foyer at Castle Hill RSL with a beautiful children’s themed Christmas Tree donated by the Christmas Tree Company for new unwrapped toy donations to be placed up to Sunday 14th December.

Don’t forget to take a snap and use the hashtag #CHRISTMASISGIVING when you drop off your toy donation (or email morsonm@castlehillrsl.com.au and we can take a snap) - the campaign is being shared on social media and all businesses will be acknowledged.