Western Sydney’s biggest annual food festival, Parramatta Lanes, is returning 5pm til late from Tuesday 9 to Friday 12 October with a bigger and better program than ever before. The popular event is returning for its seventh year with a smorgasbord of curated eats, chilled beats and art installations throughout the City’s CBD.

Following the record-breaking attendance of more than 100,000 visitors in 2017, this year’s event has grown to include an incredible 14 lanes, more than 45 food stalls and six bars. With so much on offer, there is something to suit every taste.

The perfect after work experience with your colleagues, clients or staff. To see the full program visit the Parramatta Lanes website.

In today’s digital world, is it still important to focus on and invest in search engine optimisation to drive your business website up to the top of Google rankings?

Absolutely - SEO is still the best way to grow a serious business online.

Google it

In the business of digital marketing we have to ask ourselves if websites are going to go away or if Google is going to disappear.

The phenomenal potential for a service that could find and organise the world’s data was clear from the start… And that’s still the same today. Google is still the go-to search engine with the widest reach globally.

When we look at the landscape of our business, we can’t see a change to that any time soon.

Websites are still here. And Google moves with the times - they listen to customer feedback and adapt and innovate. So what makes sense is to focus your efforts on optimising your website content and coding. That’s how you will grow your business.

Your website - your control

You own your website and all the content on it. No one can advertise around it. No one can comment on it unless you let them.

But social media platforms can be a risk to your business - they are rented space and you are at your landlord’s mercy. Those platforms will come and go and you will never have any control over your content on them.

Facebook can even take your business page down without warning... if you were relying on it for your digital marketing, you could find yourself instantly invisible to your prospects.

But your website is your permanent information hub. It is the gateway to your business for the majority of your prospects. You can keep it up to date and fresh. You will have worked hard to optimise the content. It’s your brand, it’s your domain. You can manage it in any way you choose.

The best traffic

Google Analytics is a fantastic, freely available tool that shows you exactly how your website is performing and where and when the traffic is coming from.

The very best traffic is from Google organic search - the free search engine listings on Google. This is the traffic that converts to leads and sales. This is because this type of prospect arrives at your website with a positive mindset, delivered by a lofty position at the top of Google’s rankings.

And the great thing is that once you’ve built your platform full of great content that draws Google search in, the traffic is free. And it just keeps on growing.

Businesses that have been clients of Brilliant Digital for 10 years get ridiculously good volumes of free, trusted traffic from Google that goes to their website and sees their brand. And a percentage of those people convert to leads and sales. That is priceless.

Learn more about SEO here.

How do you change behaviours in a small workplace? 

Providing a 'fair go' is part of Australia's cultural DNA, but it is also good for business – if you acknowledge the growing body of evidence from high-profile consulting firms like McKinsey and Deloitte.

The consensus from these groups is that companies who demonstrate inclusion through racial, ethnic and gender diversity, to name a few, perform better. But while the commercial benefits of a diverse workforce have been proven for large organisations (who can dedicate sizeable budgets to diversity and inclusion programs), are the same benefits true for small businesses with a handful of staff?

Click here to read the full article.

Macquarie has been providing Business Banking solutions for over 30 years and provides SME clients with tools and strategies to grow and develop their business. You can get regular updates by subscribing to the monthly newsletter, Strictly Business by visiting macquarie.com.au/businessbanking. If you would like to find out more about how Macquarie can support you to take your business further, call Aisling Osborne or Melissa Chung at our Parramatta office on 0410 310 716 and be connected with one of our banking specialists.

This information has been prepared by Macquarie Bank Limited ABN 46 008 583 542 AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 237502 (“Macquarie”) for general information purposes only. This information does not constitute advice. Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice. No member of Macquarie accepts any liability whatsoever for any direct, indirect, consequential or other loss arising from any use of this information.

Regional Development Australia Sydney and Penrith City Council invite you to a “Building Export Capability for Small to Medium Enterprises Workshop” to be held at Penrith on 19 October 2018. As part of a series of workshops made possible through funding from the NSW Government, this workshop aims to help aspiring and existing exporters from Western Sydney.

The Building Export Capability Workshop will cover:

• Welcome by Penrith City Council
  
• Workshop content and facilitation by the Export Council of Australia
  
• Case study discussion
  
• Tips for export planning, resourcing, marketing and visiting your target market
  

Who should attend?

• Western Sydney businesses looking to develop a growth plan to extend beyond the domestic market
  
• Aspiring exporters and new exporters from Western Sydney
  
• Existing exporters from Western Sydney that would like an export refresher
  

A new, $100 million retail development will create jobs and investment in Western Sydney while helping secure the future of Australia’s biggest urban park.

The Eastern Creek Quarter – a new retail precinct at the junction of the M7 Motorway and the Great Western Highway – will create around 500 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent jobs

The Quarter, which is being developed by Frasers Property Australia, will be home to supermarkets, specialty shops, and large format retail and ‘big-box’ stores, which might include businesses selling whitegoods, furniture or electrical products.

The land is owned by Western Sydney Parklands Trust and the revenue raised through leases will help secure its financial position as it expands its networks of parks, picnic grounds and recreation and leisure attractions.

Trust Executive Director, Suellen Fitzgerald, said the Western Sydney Parklands was becoming an important driver of not only lifestyle and leisure opportunities, but also economic growth in Western Sydney.

“Western Sydney Parklands is expected to generate $2.2 billion in additional economic activity for Western Sydney by 2031, through its unique range of open spaces and recreation and tourism attractions,” Ms Fitzgerald said.

“The Eastern Creek Quarter opens will attract visitors to the region from right across Greater Sydney.

“It is the second Western Sydney Parklands business hub to break ground, with the Horsley Drive Business Park just a few kilometres down the road – Australia’s first light industrial, commercial development to achieve a 6 star, ‘Green Star’ rating.

“The revenue from these business hubs and the others in development provides a sustainable financial base for the ongoing operation of the Parklands and the development of new parks, picnic areas, walking and cycling trails, and recreation and tourism opportunities.

“It will also help the Trust add to the more-than 1,300 hectares of bushland it has restored and planted over the last decade – including large areas of vital and endangered Cumberland Plain Woodland.”

The Eastern Creek Quarter site covers 15 hectares and will be built in up to four stages over five years. It is composed of 50,000 square metres of floor space for supermarkets and specialty shops, as well as ‘big box’ outlets, retailing products such as whitegoods, furniture or electrical products. The first stage due for completion in October 2019.

At more than 5,200 hectares, Western Sydney Parklands is the biggest urban park in Australia and one of the biggest in the world; spanning 27 kilometres from north to south.

Pitcher Partners are pleased to provide you with the latest edition of their national publication - Property of Pitcher Partners. This publication provides insight and commentary on the Australian property market.

In this edition they cover:

• Australian prime residential market
  
• Late cycle or sustained momentum?
  
• Structuring investment in Australian real property – manage investment trusts
  
• Changes to Victorian stamp duty law will impact property development and investment partnerships
  
• Are you risking a tax hit by bundling your block with your neighbour?
  
• 2018 Budget: Denial of tax deductions on vacant land
  
• Property and strategy - linking property investment decisions to strategy

Click here to read the winter edition of Property of Pitcher Partners 2018.

For further information, please contact your Pitcher Partners representative.

Contact

Scott McGill

Partner, Property Group

+61 2 8236 7880

scott.mcgill@pitcher.com.au

Pitcher Partners Sydney

Level 22 MLC Centre, 19 Martin Place, Sydney NSW 2000

www.pitcher.com.au

Book your Christmas event* by 1^st December for each guest to receive a signature cocktail on arrival plus your choice of:

2 x Member’s Reserve race day tickets (non-carnival) for every guest attending

or

A table of four to dine at Royal Randwick or Rosehill Gardens (non-carnival).

*event min 200 pax

Contact Events By ATC for further information:

P: 1300 729 668

W: eventsbyATC.com.au

E: info@eventsbyATC.com.au

When most people start out in a professional career, their FUNCTIONAL expertise is the primary indicator of their level of performance.

Most are promoted because of this functional expertise. Their value to the organisation is approximately 80% functional skills and 20% human skills (soft skills such as communication and collaboration).

At the point at which that promotion now has them leading or managing other people, the 80/20 rule flips.

The skills they now require are 80% human skills and 20% functional skills.

Many are not very strong in the human skills. Some are talented in some aspects of human skills e.g. in communicating their ideas to a range of people, but are not as strong in delegating or having honest conversations.

These human skills can be learned, and in fact we owe it to our star performers to ensure that they are trained in these skills. Otherwise we promote them, yet set them up for failure.

How do you ensure the people you are promoting are properly equipped with the human SKILLS they will need to succeed in their new position?

World Class Teams one day GREENLINE program is the perfect way start focusing on these skills. They have an upcoming GREENLINE OPEN program at the Mecure Parramatta on Wednesday 17th October.

To LEARN MORE and book your tickets please visit https://greenline.eventbrite.com.au

Landcom has achieved fourth place in the world and third place across the Asia Pacific in the 2018 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) Developer Assessment.

Landcom is the only government land organisation in the world to participate alongside publicly-listed and private companies in GRESB, which assesses environmental, social and governance management and implementation performance.

Landcom Chief Executive Officer John Brogden said he was delighted to see the organisation achieve such a big improvement on last year’s results, in Landcom’s second year of participation.

“GRESB is an independent, globally recognised benchmarking assessment for the real estate sector, which provides participants and stakeholders with valuable, transparent, internationally recognised evaluation of development activities,” Mr Brogden said.

“It also enables Landcom to track our performance against industry peers, reveals best practice trends, and helps us identify emerging issues.”

GRESB Head of Asia Pacific Ruben Langbroek said Landcom had shown strong demonstrative leadership in sustainable urban development.

“Through its projects, policies and processes, Landcom has shown a clear focus on material topics such as liveability, resilience, and environmental quality,” Mr Langbroek said.

“This has resulted in them receiving maximum scores in the GRESB Developer Assessment for social and governance aspects.

“We’re delighted to have Landcom as the first and only government land developer globally to participate in GRESB.”

Landcom Senior Manager of Sustainability Lauren Kajewski said Landcom’s participation was a key part of its Sustainable Places Strategy, which was committed to industry leadership in environmental, social, economic and governance within the development sector.

“Landcom was assessed on how we manage and address material sustainability issues, such as emissions reductions, resilience to climate change, and the health and wellbeing of our people and communities,” Ms Kajewski said.

“This year we received a score of 90 out of 100, compared to 76 last year, placing us third behind internationally renowned Australian companies Lendlease (1st) and Frasers (2nd). The participant peer average was 67.

“Each year we see strong leadership from Australian development companies participating in GRESB, and we congratulate our peers for their continued strong results.

“We’re aiming to improve our performance in 2019, as we embed our Sustainable Places Strategy.”

This year 903 property companies, real estate investment trusts, funds, and developers participated in the Real Estate Assessment, an increase of six per cent on the previous year.

The assessment now covers more than 79,000 assets, of which more than 49,000 reported at the asset level, across 64 countries and represents more than $USD3.6 trillion in gross asset value.

About Landcom

Landcom is the NSW Government’s land and property development organisation. They are a state owned corporation working in conjunction with the private sector to produce quality housing and communities that also delivers social and economic benefits to the people of NSW.

Visit www.landcom.nsw.gov.au for more information.

Ronald McDonald House Charities Greater Western Sydney once again invites you to celebrate Spring Carnival racing in style at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse!

Date: Saturday, 22 September

Time: 12pm-5.30pm

Venue: In the Grand Pavilion Rosehill Racecourse

Tickets: Table of 10 $2200 or individual ticket $220pp

This Race Day Event is the perfect way to enjoy the Golden Rose Day, which features the Group 1 Golden Rose, along with the Golden Pendant.

Catch all the action overlooking the winning post at the Exclusive VIP function in the Grand Pavilion, while you enjoy a delicious lunch, networking opportunities, guest speakers, and private bookmaking facilities.

Tickets available for $2200 (table of 10) or $220 (per person), including:

• Access to an exclusive VIP function in the Grand Pavilion, overlooking the winning post
• 5-hour beverage package including beer, wine, sparkling wine and soft drinks
• Buffet luncheon and afternoon tea
• Guest speakers
• Private betting and bookmaking facilities
• Live and silent auctions and on-site raffles
• Networking opportunities with attendees from the racing and corporate communities
• A racebook to keep track of the day’s action

This is a not-to-be-missed event on the Spring Carnival calendar so giddy up to enjoy the best of Spring Carnival racing while you help families with a seriously ill child.

Click here to book now