ME INC: Career 2.0 Success Strategies

Career Workshop!

2010-03-08T19:53:00.000-08:00

Sutherland Shire Council is running a free workshop for people aged 15-19 yrs who are looking to find their first job.
This is the perfect opportunity to hear from industry professionals and get the inside scoop about how to apply for the job you want.

This free workshop will be held from 10am – 2pm on Saturday 20 March at the University of Wollongong Loftus Campus and includes lunch.

Bookings are essential and can be made by emailing workshops@ssc.nsw.gov.au or phoning 9710 0155 by 17 March.

Making it in 2010 with WoMM

2010-02-21T21:14:00.000-08:00

Sonia Williams, Author of "Start Me Up!", wrote an article for us all about one of the most powerful marketing strategies today - Word of Mouth Marketing (WoMM). Although the article looks at how you can grow your business with the power of WoMM, we reckon it's useful for anyone promoting a business, product, project, or event, or even just in promoting yourself (that's right, why not talk yourself up a little this year?!)... So, read on for the low-down on WoMM.

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How can you make 2010 the year for your business? Well listen close, I am about to provide you with the best business advice you are ever going to hear… Word of Mouth Marketing (WoMM) is what it’s all about!

If you want a sensational and successful year in your biz, it’s as easy as focusing on word of mouth to promote your business. WoMM is the key to your business success because it is the only guaranteed way to get through to customers who are bombarded with an endless stream of ads and media noise on a daily basis. When buying products or services, customers look for recommendations from their friends and family. And this, my friend, is the most powerful tool of all. RIP advertising!

Biz success in 2010 and beyond will be driven by real conversations between customers who are motivated to talk about your business, product or service. Of course it’s easier said than done - so how do you motivate complete strangers to tell their friends and family about your business, products or services?

Well here is where the hard work really begins… you need to start a conversation. Smart companies get people talking about their products and service by focusing on what makes their product or service truly remarkable. The good news is, it doesn’t cost a fortune to get a prospective or actual customer talking about your business!
So, how do you show how remarkable your business really is?

Take a fresh look at your products and services

Let’s start with your product or service: does it truly satisfy the needs of your target market? You will be surprised to learn many business owners think their product or service serves a real need… but, ask the paying customer and you get an entirely different story! Have you looked at the features and benefits of your product through the eyes of your customer? Does it really satisfy their need?

Not sure…. ask them!

Hey, why not ask your customers directly “How are we doing?” “How could we improve?” - genuine attempts to improve your product or service will not only get people talking about your biz, it will help you make improvements and create an even better product or service! And, better products have more people talking about them!

Trust me, it’s not beneath you to ask! Just look at Coco Cola. Even the big boys occasionally get it wrong and have to go back to the drawing board! Coke were so desperate to crack the growing energy drink market they made a spectacular flop with the launch of their version, Mother. But, within no time they announced a re-launch of the very same energy drink, with an open apology ‘We got it wrong!’. Even the tops of the new cans were emblazoned with: “Tastes nothing like the old one”! Coca Cola listened to their customer feedback, and saved face with their loyal customer base (and maybe if they had done so earlier, they would have saved lots of time and money!).

Customers start conversations and recommend the products and services they use when the product or service truly satisfies their own needs. How does your product or service rate?

Ding, ding - service anyone?

Another thing that is very easy to improve is your customer service. Sadly I could write pages on the bad customer service I see on a daily basis – I’m sure you could too! Why is it so hard to provide quality customer service? The short answer is, it isn’t. When you focus on giving your customer a great experience, you give them something to talk (even gloat!) about to the people around them!

This is such an easy area to improve on - customer service is cheap (often free!) so why not start right now! It can be as simple as making sure customers can access your product information quickly and easily. Also, make sure everyone in your biz (yes, that’s you!) is up to date with the latest product and industry info and where your product fits in. Jump on and have a fresh read of your website… does it provide detailed product/service descriptions, testimonials and other relevant info? How easy is it for your customer to actually purchase your product? Small changes can make a huge difference!

To be a remarkable business you need to focus on the small stuff because these are the things customers notice and these are the things your competitors aren’t doing.

Open your eyes to a new way of doing business – it’s all about WoMM. Being remarkable makes more money and sense, because customers will talk about you, your business and your products and services. That’s advertising for nix.

This year the key to your success is to learn how to be the remarkable company that people want to share with their friends.

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Written by Sonia Williams
Sonia Williams is a high-energy entrepreneur and author of Start Me Up! a compilation of more than 100 business ideas that any budding entrepreneur can run with, as well as great tips for those wanting to start a business. http://www.start-me-up.com.au/

Top 10 Job Hunting Blunders

2010-02-18T14:55:00.000-08:00

Careerone.com.au has recently revealed its list of top 10 blunders made during job interviews!

Here’s what made it into the top 10:

Spelling mistakes on a CV/cover letter.
Using “crazy” email addresses – e.g. sexylovegod@hotmail.com.
Inventing careers and skills.
Interrupting an interviewer to look at a text message or take a call.
Reeking of that last minute cigarette as you walk into the job interview. Yuk. Overpowering colognes/perfumes are also bad form.
Dressing inappropriately – the way you look should match the image of the company you are interviewing with. Also jewellery that jangles irritates the interviewers.
Not setting up a quiet space for a phone interview. Pet noises, house mates/family asking questions or loud music in the background are interview killers.
Sharing too much personal information.
Bagging your former employer or boss.
Not doing your homework about the employer – and worse – calling the employer by the name of their competitor.

“How well you conduct yourself at each step of the recruitment process speaks volumes about how you will act in the job – if you get it”, says Kate Southam, Editor, Careerone.com.au.

Kate’s top 10 tips on how to ace a job interview:

Research, research, research – on both yourself and the employer.
Tailor your resume and your interview prep for each role.
Rehearse for the interview – at least three times.
Prepare to use real examples from your work history to answer interview questions.
Pick your job interview outfit days ahead to make sure it fits and is stain free.
Be positive about your past work experiences.
Prepare questions to ask the employer.
Always be 10 minutes early for an interview.
Follow up with a thank you after the job interview.
Be on your best behaviour but be genuine. If you have to pretend to get the job then it is not the job for you.
Careerone.com.au spoke to employers and recruiters who offered up some of their worst interview experiences.

Angela Vithoulkas who runs the VIVO Cafe franchise in Sydney said that one candidate came in for an interview dressed in a clown costume.

“I felt like sticking a sign on my forehead saying ‘are you serious?”. It’s hard to take someone seriously when they’re dressed as a clown.”

Helen Olivier, of the Olivier Group said that there was a degree of desperation in the market so people overstate their skills and salary.

“Often people assume they are going to earn a lot more than market reality just because they are moving jobs. If you are head-hunted it doesn’t necessarily mean you are worth higher than market value.”

Andrew Brushfield of Robert Half in Australia says spelling mistakes on resumes is a pet hate for consultants.

“If you make errors on your application, employers assume you’ll make mistakes on the job.”

For more tips & info on the job-hunting process: http://www.careerone.com.au/news-advice

Five Ways to Promote Yourself Powerfully

2009-05-12T22:33:00.000-07:00

Promote Yourself Powerfully

Our First Five Methods you can use to Promote Yourself Powerfully and Create Opportunities for Your Career

Jessica Kiely-Schebesta

The modern marketplace is very competitive and we are required to sell ourselves every day, whether it is to ensure you are chosen for a new project at work, to win a new client or get a new job.

As the CEO of your Me Incorporated (Me INC) you need to be promoting yourself in that marketplace. Here are our first five strategies that you can use to promote yourself powerfully and create opportunities for your career. Stay tuned for our next 5 coming out soon!

First Impressions

It is vital that you get the basics right first when it comes to first impressions. You have 5 to 15 seconds to impress someone and create a powerful impression, and you are the one that has a large say in what they think of you, so use that power.

Make sure the way you are dressed is right for the environment and occasion. Do your research before hand to find out what this is, especially if you are in a different country and culture. Always look smart and well presented, as this proves that you care and have taken the time to present yourself well, which says a lot about how you approach work as well.

Make sure there is a smile on your face. This makes you approachable and can give you confidence. Keep your energy levels high, without bouncing off the walls! Someone who is energetic, interested and enthusiastic always stands out.

If you need to wear a name tag make sure it is easy to read and see, so wearing it on your waist is not appropriate.

Starting with a firm handshake can also work wonders. No one likes to shake hands and get a wet fish on the other end. Practice your handshake with someone and ask for feedback. Again you want it to show your confidence.

Have open and positive body language in the way you hold yourself and walk into a room. The ‘ole shoulders back, head high and eyes up is very true, and will make you feel more confident. Sitting up in your chair and forward as you speak also shows interest and creates a great impression.

And of course, choose your words wisely. Positive language, well thought out responses and a confident introduction of yourself are a great starter. Don’t worry if you don’t get it right straight away, learn from each experience and do it better next time.

Follow Up

Basically, in my experience 90% of people are lazy and never follow up and just sit and wait for people to get back to them. Be a part of the 10% and really stand out and be remembered by following up. It seems basic, but most people just can’t be bothered, and so miss out on the true opportunities.

You can follow up with a speaker you heard at an event and were really impressed with, after a job interview, after sending your resume, after a meeting with a manager or supervisor, after a seminar you attended, after a networking event with the people that you met, after the first meeting with a new project team, after a teleconference......it just goes on.

Your follow up obviously needs to suit the occasion and situation, so choose wisely, but ALWAYS follow up.

You can:

Send an email
Make a quick phone call
Send a letter, card or postcard
Write up a testimonial or recommendation for them
Ask for a testimonial or feedback from them
Post them a small gift
Link with them on LinkedIn or Facebook etc

Professional Online Profiles

You probably already have a Facebook or MySpace set up that keeps you in contact with your social circle, and perhaps even some in your professional network on there as well. However, there are lots of places where you can now have your professional online profile set up and link with others, and it can all just be about your professional side of life.

The one that we use and highly recommend is LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com). You set up your profile and outline all of your past jobs, achievements, education and interests; almost like an online resume. Then you get to search for people you know and have worked with professionally and link with them. Once they have accepted you, you are able to see their network and who they know. It is very powerful.

To make the most of it make sure you have a fully updated profile, a picture of yourself that is professional, get people in your network to write recommendations for you (and of course you will need to do it for them first), and keep your status updated with what you are currently working on or achievements that you want others to know about.

LinkedIn is becoming a market place. Jobs are advertised and people ask for referrals, you can join professional groups and associations and get updates about opportunities, people ask questions and seek feedback and tips are provided by the network.

The most powerful thing I have found with LinkedIn is the ability to search for someone you really want to talk with or have a chance to meet, and you can then see how many degrees of separation between you and them, and then just work your way through getting introductions to others to then eventually get a personal introduction to the person you wanted to chat with. Very powerful stuff! So get cracking and get your LinkedIn profile up and search for me Jessica Kiely-Schebesta!

Online Reputation Management (ORM)

To ensure that you and your brand are protected and working for you positively you need to be monitoring what is online about you. 80% of employers and others will Google you before meeting you or even considering you for a position professionally, and sometimes those Google results (word and image) are the difference between whether you get an opportunity or not.

Regularly check through Google, MSN and Yahoo what comes up with your name. Ensure that anything unprofessional is removed, if possible – like those Facebook pics from last weeks party! Facebook and other sites all have ways to keep certain parts of your profile private and only viewable by those who you want seeing it, so utilise those locking tools.

You can even set up a Google Alert with your name and any other identifiers, so that on a weekly basis you get sent anything that has come up online and being indexed by Google with your name. That way you can monitor it yourself and then manage it regularly.

Also start looking for as many ways to be known online for good stuff eg; articles being published, awards being won etc. We will look at these in more detail in our next edition of Ways to Powerfully Promote Yourself, so stay tuned.

Face to Face Networking

Yes, it is an oldie but a goodie. Actually meeting new people in person in a professional environment is very important to build your network but also to promote yourself. You are never too young to start networking, so “being a student” is no excuse and you can get out there and start meeting new people right now.

Making sure you get out to 1 or 2 networking events a month is a good goal to aim for. There are heaps of different opportunities and events out there to choose from, and not all of them cost money; get searching! The Frank Team run regular networking events for young entrepreneurs so ask us about the next one coming up near you.

Network not only within your industry but also venture out to other industries and extend your network and professional development.

There are a heap of great articles you can find online that give you tips and strategies on how to network effectively, so do some prep before and read up. But keep in mind:

Always have business cards with you. Even if you are a student or between jobs, you can get a set of business cards done up pretty easily for not much cost with your basic contact details.
Arrive early and find other people who are alone and looking to chat.
Research the speaker before and then introduce yourself to them at the event.
When you meet new people ask lots of interesting questions that help you learn more about them, then customise your 30 sec pitch about “what do you do” to them and their needs.
Add the new people that you meet to your contacts database afterwards, or find them on LinkedIn and connect.
Always follow up with new people and old acquaintances that you met.
Note down each time what you learnt; tips, strategies etc and then post that on your blog or someone else’s to help other people learn.

Stay tuned for our next 5 WAYS TO PROMOTE YOURSELF POWERFULLY; Mentors, Work Experience, Volunteering, Speaking Opportunities & Twitter

The Frank Team have a 1 hour, 3 hour and Full Day workshop on POWERFUL SELF PROMOTION – The Why and How. To learn more and get a session outline contact jessica@frankteam.com.au or (02) 95186244. We present these all over Australia and travel to you.

The Frank Team specialise in career, entrepreneurship & youth development programs across Australia. Our experienced and professional youth presenters, coupled with our selection of set or customised programs deliver high impact presentations, workshops and ongoing programs for young people, young professionals & young entrepreneurs. Through our 8 years we have worked with schools, local councils, universities, government departments of all levels, corporate, community groups and training organisations across Australia and internationally.

We truly care about assisting and empowering young Australians to take their ideas and make them a reality in their careers, their communities and in their own business. And always doing this in a fun, innovative and authentic way.

Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you motivate, inspire & empower the young people that you work with.

www.frankteam.com.au and www.youngentrepreneurs.net.au
Ph: (02) 95186244 E: jessica@frankteam.com.au

Media Promo Opportunity - Contact Us NOW

2009-01-29T16:59:00.000-08:00

Calling all Under 20 Young Entreprenuers

We have been contacted by a mainstream media outlet and they are interested in doing a story on some young (under 20) entrepreneurs out there right now running their businesses. Yey for young entrepreneurs!

If you (or anyone you know of) meet these criteria please contact me ASAP – I will get your direct contact details and then pass them onto the journalist.

Criteria:
- Under 20
- Currently running your own business (part time or full time) of any type (business, social, environmental etc)
- From any state in Australia
- Teenage entrepreneurs in particular are encouraged to put their hand up!

Please get in contact with us ASAP with your direct phone number (mobile, land line), your age and your business name. You can also call me with any questions: (02) 95186244

Forward this on to any other young entrepreneurs you know and get them to contact us too.

Look forward to hearing from you very soon
Jessica
Director - The Frank Team

The Steps to Starting up a Business – Young Entrepreneur Style

2008-11-11T19:24:00.000-08:00

Do you want to help your young people to start up their own business over summer? Do you know some young people who want to Be The Boss and want to provide them with some advice?

Don’t let all of the recession talk being pumped out by the media get you down. We believe that these “new economic conditions” bring with them a heap of opportunity as consumers look for better deals and alternatives to the big corporate guys, and your young people may have just the business that can do that.

You can help your young people to get started on planning and starting their own business.

To help you out we have put together a Ten Step Summer Business Start Up Plan for you and your young people.

Plus we are very excited to announce that our Business Break it Down cards that many of you have used in our workshops are now available for you to purchase and use with your classes. They outline the steps to starting up a business in a really fun and interactive format, a set of cards. Get your copy here http://www.frankteam.com.au/entrepreneur/start-up-business-cards.html These cards are REALLY popular with young people, as they make business planning easy to understand and do! Get your copy to use in BUSINESS STUDIES classes.

Here are the basic 10 STEPS to Business Start-Up:

Ten Step Summer Start Up Plan

1. Grab a piece of paper or open up a word doc and describe your idea (so far!). Describe what makes it unique, who will most benefit from your idea, how your idea will help people & what you will do for them, and where your idea came from. For some summer biz ideas see our list below.

2. Create a list of 10 questions to ask your potential customers so you can learn more about their needs, wants, budgets & interest in a business like yours. Then get out there and find at least 20 people who fit your target market and ask them your 10 questions.

If you are super worried about people “ripping” of your idea then check out www.ipaustralia.gov.au to see how you can protect your idea. But in the initial research phases you can usually still ask people questions that will help you learn more without telling em exactly what your business idea is.

3. Now you know more about your idea and target customers, re-define your business idea to match up with customer wants & budget. You should now be able to capture your business idea on one page.

4. It’s time now to think about how you will tell your target customers about your business, so work out your start up marketing. This is where you get to be creative and think of easy and cheap but fun ways of getting the attention of your target market so they wanna use you! Outline in a word doc what strategies you will use in the first 2 weeks of start up, then what you will do every 2 weeks after then to tell people about your business.

5. You now need to think about your start up & ongoing costs. What equipment will you need & what costs are involved in running those (eg: petrol for the car, tools), will you need to pay anyone else for their time, what will your start up and ongoing marketing cost you (paper, printing, letter box dropping etc), and of course the cost of registering your business name. Open up an excel spreadsheet and create a budget. Note down what expenses there are (OUTs), how much and when you will need to pay them, and then when you would expect to start earning income (INs). You now have a budget and cashflow tracking all in one. Keep it updated! Work out where you will get the dollars to start up; savings, parents, other jobs or even credit card (if you are sure you can pay it back).

6. Now you know how much it will cost you to start up and run & you know roughly your target customers budget, you need to now set your price for your product or service.

7. For some fun stuff now, come up with a business name. Make sure your business name is easy to remember. Have a few options. Then go to your state governments Fair Trading Department and check to see if anyone else is using that name – cos then you can’t! When you find one that is unique to you, register it (this may cost you anything from $0 to $150 depending on which state you are in). You are now very very close to really starting your business – get excited?!

8. Next is to choose the best business structure for you; sole trader, partnership, company, or not for profit. We have a really easy to read and use guide for you on this one, so go to http://www.frankteam.com.au/bizarticles/choose-a-business-structure.aspx to learn more.

9. Head over to the ATO (Australian Taxation Office) website and register for an ABN if you don’t already have one. This costs nothing, and you can register it under your own name if you are a sole trader. It can take a few weeks to get your ABN so make sure you leave enough time for it. For any other tax questions you may have, we have done the research for you so go to http://www.frankteam.com.au/bizarticles/getting-started-tax-basics.aspx

10. Guess what, now it is time to LAUNCH! Get that marketing happening and go out and get your first customers.

From here just learn, learn & learn more about your business idea from your customers to improve it even further. And enjoy the ride. Believe me when I say it is ok to be unsure & a little scared, but just go for it.

These TEN STEPS are the really basics of start up. If you want help that is a little more in depth plus being practical and fun, then please check out our Frank Team Business Break It Down Cards. They make start-up easy & fun and summer is the perfect time for business planning. Plus these cards are super affordable at only $49.50 inc GST (plus postage & handling). Get them in time for Xmas for yourself or someone you know!!! More info in IGNITE and here http://www.frankteam.com.au/entrepreneur/start-up-business-cards.html

These cards are a perfect complement to your Business Studies course.

Some great summer businesses to start

- Collecting mail while people are on holidays

- Dog walking

- Party planner

- House sitting

- Painted t-shirts

- Sport lessons

- Mowing & gardening while people are on holidays

- PC repair

Happy start-up

How To Effectively Use Those End of Year Quiet Times To Get Ahead

2008-10-26T18:19:00.000-07:00

Jessica Kiely – The FRANK Team

When all of the Christmas parties are almost over for the year all most people can think about is going to the beach, Christmas Shopping and what they’re doing for New Years. But you are still “open for business”. How can you and your team effectively use that quieter end of year and early New Year time to get ahead and set yourself up for stellar results in 2009?

Here are some FRANK ideas for you and your team:

v The quiet time is the perfect time to reflect on the performance of your team and see how 2009 can be even better. Creating an open and fun environment to cover areas like highlighting successes & challenges experienced in the year, identifying areas for improvement and brainstorming solutions. And then most important, creating an action plan for implementing solutions to create an even better 2009. All of this needs to be done in a fun and open environment where everyone contributes.

In the “festive spirit” we have a great bonus for you today. We have a created a Day Outline for your End Of Year Team Performance Reflection, or what we call Re-Fresh that follows The Frank Team’s SCITSA formula. You can use this template to run your own Re-Fresh Day.

To get your FREE Re-Fresh Workshop Template email us at jessica@frankteam.com.au

v Schedule some team building activities. These don’t need to break the budget either. You can organise and run some simple and fun activities yourself. Or even better - get each person on your team to come up with their team building activity that they run with everyone, so you get all different flavours of activities. A quick web search gives you a huge list of Do-It-Yourself activities http://wilderdom.com/games/InitiativeGames.html and http://www.teampedia.net/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page You could try a Mini Olympics, Cooking or Art. It can be team building just coming up with the team building activities!

v Have a spring clean in your office environment. Identify as a team what needs some “work” and then schedule in blocks of time to get it done, doing it in blocks of time. Your work environment will feel lighter, more organised and ready for a brand spanking New Year. And if effective spring cleaning is what you are after then check out http://directory.homestead.com/article/spring-clean-up-of-your-office ! And to make it fun, turn it into a competition. As a team create the Spring-Clean-O-Meter that is a rating system. Give everyone a time period and then go around and rate each area using your Spring-Clean-O-Meter. Give away a cool prize to the best spring cleaner!

v Identify skills gaps in your team and find opportunities to fill those through some skills training. Perhaps your team needs better sales, technology or finance skills to produce even better results in 2009. As a team, identify those areas and see who would like or benefit from training in what. Give each person a budget and then they need to research and find the best option for their needs and budget. Then to ensure the learning is widespread, once the training has been undertaken each of those people gives a short presentation to everyone else, helping them to learn the skills they have just learnt. See below for the skills training that The FRANK Team can help you with.

v Spend time on Career Progression Planning for individuals in your team. We often don’t take the time, because we don’t have the time, to do a check in on how we are progressing in our career and where we would like to go. Similar to how businesses do their end of year review, giving staff the same time to review their careers is really beneficial to help staff re-focus and feel valued for your investment in them. It can really be as simple as where are you now, where would you like to be, what do you need to do to get there to then create a Career Profession Plan from.

If running this yourself totally freaks you out then see below how The FRANK Team can come in and run a fun, interactive and cost effective session for you, cos we love doing this stuff!

Even if you do this regularly with your staff, and have a structured program for it, the end of year is still a great time to do this, as a period of time is coming to an end and this is a natural time to reflect and reassess goals and priorities for the coming year.

The Frank Team can help you with:

v Career Progression Plan workshops

v Team Building activities that are run in-house

v Facilitating your Re-Fresh End of Year Team Performance Reflection Day

Ask us how: Jessica@frankteam.com.au Ph: (02) 99664333

All of our sessions are fun, engaging & cost effective. For session information you can visit us at http://www.frankteam.com.au/corporates/ .

Just what is a "young entrepreneur"?

2008-10-22T21:44:00.000-07:00

Did you know there are over 50,000 young Australians under the age of 25 running their own business? Yep, that’s right. Even 15 year olds are starting their own businesses; cool hey?!

You may know one of them, or perhaps some of the young people you work with have that entrepreneurial spark in them, or perhaps you have thought of Being the Boss yourself!

I was at a networking event recently, and whilst chatting to someone about the work that The FRANK Team does with young entrepreneurs, I was asked ‘What exactly is a young entrepreneur?’ The many ways in which we classify a ‘young entrepreneur’ immediately sprang to mind – age, mindset, action, personality, experience. So I thought I’d sit down and really think about what it is to be a young entrepreneur. It reminded me of the time when I first started my business at 19, all eager and full of ideas!

And then this fab email came through....

Hi Frank Team!

I receive all of your newsletters including Ignite, and I just wanted to drop by a real positive comment and tell you how much it has helped and influenced me!

Because of the thought-provoking and inspiring nature of the magazine, I began my own business about 7 months ago at the age of 16! I'm an hsc student now, managing my own local dance school called "Inspire". I aim to provide a safe, fun and non-competitive environment where children can freely express themselves without being exposed to inappropriate choices of music and ways of moving. My passion and love for dance as an art form is now being passed on, and I just want to thank you for the inspiration, encouragement and guidance that I find in your newsletters!

So here is just to encourage and to thank the Frank Team!

Regards

,Jemma Nicoll

Awesome stuff Jemma!

So who are these ‘young entrepreneurs’ apart from Jemma and myself? You can learn more about what it is to be a ‘young entrepreneur” right here http://www.frankteam.com.au/bizarticles/calling-all-young-entrepreneurs.aspx . I have put together a great article packed with ideas and tips on spotting enterprising youngsters, plus your very own Young Entrepreneur SnapShot audit to test if have some of the critical entrepreneurial attributes.

So what can you do to help your young people learn more about starting their own business?

The Frank Team would love to come to you and present one of our inspiring Youth Biz workshops for you and your young people. We really believe that starting a business as a young person is a viable career option and more young people should be exposed to it, just like Jemma. Why? It’s totally possible, you are in control, you learn so much very quickly and being young is the best time to give it a go!

PLUS, take advantage of Global Entrepreneurship Week and unleash the entrepreneur in your young people by getting The Frank Team to come and do what we love to do – inspiring young entrepreneurs. November 17^th to 23^rd is the week. The official page is http://www.unleashingideas.org/country/AU for Australia.

The FRANK Team was founded and is run by young entrepreneurs. We have a passion for encouraging and empowering other young people to believe in their ideas, get started and build a life they love in control of their own business.

There is our one hour Business YOU program.

Through stories and demonstrations the young people will come to learn what it means to think like an entrepreneur and how that can help them in their lives and careers. They will hear directly from a young person out there right now running their own business. It covers what an entrepreneur is and asks students to look at themselves, innovative thinking and start up steps and tips. It is great for years 10 through to 12.

Or perhaps our YOUTH-BIZ workshop that can be run as a three hour or full day workshop would be best for your students.

This is an interactive student workshop for up to 50 Year 10 and 11 students on entrepreneurial, innovation & essential career skills. It covers personality traits of an entrepreneur, thinking innovatively, tools for creating opportunities, inspiration from role models, basic steps for starting a business plus support and connection to the youth biz industry.

As always, The Frank Team comes to you as we have fab young entrepreneur presenters in each state and we bring all of our resources with us to run the sessions.

Prices for our one hour Business YOU sessions start from $465 (inc GST - for metro locations) and from $1500 (inc GST - for metro locations) for a full day for the Youth Biz workshops.

Contact us now for a personalised quote and outline of Business YOU and YOUTH-BIZ. Help your young people learn more about starting their own business today!

Call Jessica on (02)99664333 or email Jessica@frankteam.com.au ASAP to book in time for Global Entrepreneurship Week from November 17^th to 23^rd.

To learn more about how I started my first business at the age of 19 head on over to http://www.frankteam.com.au/ourteam/about-jessica-kiely.aspx

Remember to learn more about what it is to be a young entrepreneur at http://www.frankteam.com.au/bizarticles/calling-all-young-entrepreneurs.aspx

We look forward to unleashing more young entrepreneurs just like Jemma with your help!

Jessica Kiely

Online Resumes...Gone are the days of staples!

2008-09-10T16:43:00.000-07:00

Gone are the days of staples, torn paper edges and plastic sleeves. Online Resumes are the future. These are beneficial to both the employer and the candidate as it increases control in the recruitment process. It shortens the anticipation as there is no longer a need to wait weeks, or even days, for applications to be received, collated and examined.

Technology is moving even beyond just e-mailing your resume to a potential employer. There’s now a multitude of websites that specialise in helping you to create your online resume, resulting in more exposure to potential employers for you. This means more chance of you finding that perfect job even faster!

So why use an online resume? One key reason is keywords. Today, employers often scan resumes looking for keywords, and it certainly isn’t one person sitting there reading every resume the company has received. Electronic scanning means that your resume needs to be in electronic form – or chances are you’ll miss out. If you’re applying for a particular job, find out what it is the employer is looking for – and customize your resume!

Creating an online resume means that your personalised resume information is available online. You have two choices – one is to protect your information, meaning it can only be accessed by people that you give a special code to. The other is having your information public, meaning any potential employer could search for your information. Obviously there’s pros and cons to both of these – it’s a matter of privacy versus exposure, and there is no one right answer to this.

An online resume means potential employers are able to search online, through databases created by different websites. For public resumes, this means a higher chance that a potential employer will come across your information. Again, this is where keywords are so important, because potential employers will be searching for particular experience, qualifications or personal characteristics. It’s also possible to create multiple resumes, so if you’re interested in jobs in a few different industries, this is a great chance for you to increase your exposure to different employers, who would be looking for different qualities, qualifications and experience in a candidate.

Here are some tips to ensure your resume is up to date and relevant online;

• List your technical strengths first
• List your qualifications in order of relevance to the position you are applying for
• Don't sell yourself short, include your achievements
• Make sure your resume is credible! (one out of five people lie in their resumes)
• Be concise, try and keep your resume to one or two pages
• Exclude needless items
• Key words are important. Employers search with key words when looking at resumes, what do you want to be recognised as? Dynamic? Then make it a consistent theme throughout your resume.
• Have a trusted friend review your resume, and give their honest opinion
• Proofread your resume before you send or upload it

What format do I put my resume in?

The three main formats used when doing online resume’s are, ASCII Text, HTML and PDF.

How do I convert my resume for these formats?

ASCII - Make up your resume in your word processing software and save the document as “ASCII” text or “text only document” or “Rich Text Format (RTF)”. Put “.txt” after ASCII when you save it. This is the most popular format used online.

HTML- HTML is ‘Hyper Text Markup Language’ used by the web browser to display web content. HTML controls the format, fonts, margins, layouts, colors, tables, links and several other items on the web page. HTML Editors, Microsoft FrontPage can be helpful in developing HTML resumes.

PDF - The Portable Document format is often used as an alternative of HTML. Unlike HTML, it is “embedded” and will not change with different browser settings. However it does require that the viewer has the Adobe Acrobat viewer. Converting a document to PDF format requires the Adobe Acrobat or third party software that can convert various document formats to PDF (such as plug ins for Microsoft Word).

Where can I upload my resume?

There are various employment sites to post your resume. Here are a few you might like to visit.

• iD Logik – www.idlogik.com
• Australian Job Search - www.jobsearch.gov.au (This is currently Australia’s largest employment website)
• ComeOnAussieDotCom - http://www.comeonaussie.com/categories/employment.html
• JobsPLUS – www.jobsplus.com.au

Young Entrepreneurs Stepping Up Program

2008-08-14T20:30:00.000-07:00

WANTED: Passionate Young

Entrepreneurs Ready To Grow Their Business

The FRANK Team is excited to announce the YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS STEPPING UP PROGRAM (YESUP), funded and supported by the NSW Department of State and Regional Development. Applications are now open!

The YESUP program focuses on Lifestyle Marketing Systems. As a small business ourselves, we know that there are two key needs to be met for a business to grow: Marketing and the ability to create systems within your business. So we’ve combined these two topics into an amazing new program for young entrepreneurs!

Applications close midnight August 31st, so get in quick - there were 16 places available – now there’s only 12 left! Workshops will take place in Sydney throughout September – November.

APPLY NOW To Be Part Of The YESUP Program!!!

For more info & an application form go to:

www.frankteam.com.au/entrepreneur/marketing-systemise-program.htm

How Does YESUP Work?

YESUP combines skills workshops, one-on-one mentoring and more to produce real and immediate results for you and your business. The workshops are run over six weeks and concentrate on the Lifecycle Marketing System creation for your business. They are presented by Jessica Kiely, the Director of The Frank Team. The one-on-one mentoring is also

run over these six weeks and allows you to work on an area you have identified within your business for some intensive assistance and guidance - all with an experienced and successful business person. More information about these elements is below.

In YESUP, You Will Learn How To:

v Become aware of how to develop systems for all aspects of your business

v Develop a comprehensive Lifecycle Marketing System

v Learn directly from experienced and successful entrepreneurs

v Attract and retain more customers

v Free up your time to work in other areas of your business

v Generate a more reliable income by creating a six to twelve month marketing calendar ready to go

v Track your businesses progress more easily and manage the performance of your marketing

v Make better strategic decisions

v Make it easier to expand and grow your business

v Sell more to existing customers and increase your profits on a regular and consistent basis

Also Included In YESUP:

v A Self-coaching session (Valued at $780) - This will inspire and empower you to drive your business success further by training you to coach yourself through the harder times.

v Networking with other young entrepreneurs who have growing businesses - This will expand your contact list, increase your business knowledge, and introduce you to new potential customers.

v A full ENYA Lawsense workshop (Valued at $750) - To help you avoid legal mistakes and save your business from losing money on legal cases. An ENYA (www.enya.org.au) Business Legal Workshop will be organised for you to attend free of charge at a time convenient to program participants.

v Weekly Inspirational TIPS (Valued at $450) - For ongoing inspiration and motivation to get you through the tough times.

v Regular Mentor Case Studies (Valued at $180) - To ensure you avoid business mistakes and leverage the experience of other successful entrepreneurs.

v LET IT OUT Roundtable (Valued at $350) - You will get other entrepreneurs brains working on and solving your business's problems. Grow your business faster by enlisting the help of other entrepreneurs to supercharge your business and help improve your weaknesses.

v Graduation Ceremony & Certificate - be recognised for your achievement at the YESUP Graduation Ceremony.

If you’re a young entrepreneur between the ages of 18 and 35, running a business in NSW that has been in operation for at least one year, and you are interested in taking part in our skills and mentoring program, contact Lesley on (02) 9966 4333. For more info go to http://www.frankteam.com.au/entrepreneur/marketing-systemise-program.html

APPLY NOW To Be Part Of The YESUP Program!!!

For more info & an application form go to:

www.frankteam.com.au/entrepreneur/marketing-systemise-program.htm

How Much Does YESUP Cost?

YESUP will cost you ONLY $200 (+ GST). But it’s valued at over $4450. Invest a small amount of money for a very large return. This program gives you access to the type of training that

normally costs you thousands of dollars!

If you’ve been in business yourself for at least five years and would like to be involved in the program as a mentor, we’d LOVE to hear from you. Contact Lesley on (02) 9966 4333.

If you know someone who could benefit from participating in this program, please forward this opportunity on to them. We’d love to get a wide range of young entrepreneurs and mentors involved and we need your help!

The workshops are made possible by the NSW Department of State and Regional Development (DSRD) the New South Wales Government's business development agency. DSRD delivers programs and services that support the NSW Government’s commitment to winning new business activity for NSW, and developing the capacity and productivity of the State’s economy. For further information on how DSRD can help your business go to www.business.nsw.gov.au

Dinner Impressions

2008-08-13T20:25:00.000-07:00

Getting ahead in your career doesn’t just happen over the boardroom table, it also happens over a lunch or dinner table. Knowing your desert spoon from your bread knife and your napkin etiquette can ensure you make a professional and powerful impression. But where do you learn this stuff these days? No time for a June Daly Watkins course?! Well we have done the research and information gathering for you – so tuck that napkin down your shirt and dig in!

These tips are specific to an Australian cultural context. If you find yourself in a different cultural context then do your homework on expected etiquette to ensure you make the best impression.

THE TIPS:

Off on the Right Foot:

Be punctual – never more than 10 minutes late. If you are running late, ensure you have let them know you are running late and why.
If the dinner is at someone’s home it is considered good etiquette to take something along for the host. That could be wine or flowers. And make sure you thank the host when you leave.
Never start eating before a signal from the host to do so.
Remember LIQUIDS ON THE RIGHT, SOLIDS ON THE LEFT. So your bread plate will be on your left and your glasses will be on your right. This way you will never eat someone else’s bread again!

Food & Drinks:

Never, never, never make loud eating noises like slurping, chewing or burping. And that also includes not trying to talk with your mouth full.
It’s advised not to use bread rolls to dip into soups or to soak up sauces, leave that for at home.
With soups use your spoon and spoon the soup away from you when you take it out of the bowl and sip it from the side of the spoon.
When served a bread roll on a bread plate, break the bread apart with your fingers so that it is in pieces small enough for one or two bites. Then butter a pulled apart piece and then eat it. It is not advised that you butter the entire roll at one time.
Butter should be taken when passed, and placed onto your bread plate, never directly onto your bread.
When eating meat it is advisable to always cut and eat one small piece at a time.
It is advised to order food that you will be able to eat with your knife and fork. Finger foods can get messy.
If food spills off your plate, you may pick it up with one of your utensils and place it on the edge of your plate.
Never spit a piece of food out! Remove the food from your mouth with the same utensil it went in with. Place the piece of food on the edge of your tongue and put it back onto your utensil and then return it to the edge of your plate.
Don’t season your food before you have tasted it. This is considered offensive to the chef.
Make sure you don’t drink too much alcohol during the meal, you want to remain in control and making the best impression. If wine is served with each course, it is quite ok to not finish each glass.
Managing your eating and drinking. Finish chewing what is in your mouth before you take a drink.
It is inappropriate to ask for a doggy bag when you are a guest, unless offered of course.

At the Table:

If what you want on the table is out of reach it is best to ask for the guest closest to it to pass it to you, rather than you reaching over people. If you absolutely must then a polite “Excuse me” as you reach is always appreciated.
Always create and make fun, interesting and ongoing conversation with those guests around you.
Grooming at the table is a no. That is brushing your hair, applying lipstick or picking teeth (unless toothpicks have been provided). Excuse yourself and do those things in the bathroom.
Sit up straight in your chair at the table. It makes a good impression.
When you are not eating, keep your hands on your lap or resting on the table with your wrists on the edge of the table. Elbows on the table are acceptable only between courses, not while you and others are eating.

Napkins:

When you arrive unfold your napkin, or wait for it to be unfolded for you by restaurant staff, and place it on your lap. With large napkins then fold it in half before putting it onto your lap.
Use you napkin to wipe your fingers and lips.
Use your napkin before drinking from a glass or cup.
When you have finished your meal leave your napkin tidily on the middle of your place setting, if your crockery has been cleared. If it has not been cleared, leave it to the left of your plate.
Never use your napkin as a handkerchief, unless absolutely necessary. If you sneeze, excuse yourself and go to the bathroom to blow your nose.
Place your napkin on your chair when excusing yourself during the meal
Never leave or place your napkin onto your plate.

Utensils:

Desserts can be eaten with both a spoon and fork, or just a fork alone.
Forks should not be turned over (so they are like a spade) unless being used to eat peas, rice or other similar foods. In this case you should transfer the fork to your right hand and use it.
It is quite acceptable at a BBQ to eat with just a fork.
If one of your utensils falls on the floor, pick it up and then let your server know you dropped it and ask for a clean one.
Never use a knife or utensil to point at someone. Always place them down when using your hands.
If you arrive and there is a lot of utensils and you are not sure what is for what, follow the rule of outside in toward the plate.

Some Oldies but Goodies:

Never out dress the host/ess.
If you want to bring a guest, always ask the host first and confirm with them.
Hold the knife and fork with the handles in the palm of the hand, forefinger on top, and thumb underneath. Rest your knife and fork on either side of the plate between mouthfuls. When finished place them side by side in the centre of your plate.

From http://www.askandyaboutclothes.com/Lifestyle/proper_table_manners.htm

iDlogik - Online Resumes

2008-08-12T20:15:00.000-07:00

I recently found this site – iDlogik.com and thought wow this is cool. Then I found out it was Australian and a new start up by an Aussie entrepreneur – I had to learn more.

I caught up with founder of iDlogik Michael Costin – here is what he had to say…..

Where did the idea for iDlogik come from?

iDlogik came about from a simple idea to develop an innovative and dynamic online resume builder to help jobseekers with resume creation and storage. The concept continued to evolve, and as a result, jobseekers now not only build an online resume with iDlogik, they get to create and manage their entire online career portfolio with which to maximize their full career potential.

With an iDlogik account, Jobseekers can write and store cover letters, verify key career milestones, manage references, upload important documents, apply for jobs, and even elect to have their resumes searchable online by the top employers and recruiters in town… ensuring that they never miss out on any great opportunities.

What have been the challenges in starting up an online business?

It’s been a huge effort over the past 2 years to get iDlogik up and running. The main challenges have been in the development of our exciting ideas into actual web products. The relationship between the IT and R&D sides of the business have been strained at times but we are all really proud to have finally launched a truly innovative online product.

What is your ultimate vision for your business?

iDlogik’s ultimate vision is to create the worlds leading online space, where jobseekers can create and manage their entire career portfolios from the one online location, in effect creating the world’s first independent resume board. The result will be an environment where jobseekers can achieve their full career potential by taking a more proactive role in promoting their resumes and career experience to recruiters and employers.

Each day what are the things you do that you LOVE and things that you do each day that you DISLIKE but just have to do?

The best thing about this job is that every day is different. We work with a wide-range of people from jobseekers, students and career advisors to employers and recruiters. All have an active interest in the iDlogik brand so it’s never a dull moment meeting new users and watching the business grow. Dislikes are few and far between but like any job there are niggling little tasks that just have to be done, but the good times definitely outnumber the bad.

So go and set up your online resume now at www.idlogik.com

Here at The Frank Team know how valuable and cool this online resume idea is. We do career success presentations all over Australia to young people and young professionals and think the iDlogik idea is awesome and we can’t wait to spread the word!

And stay tuned - this has just given me a great idea! Next blog post will help you learn all about HOW TO CREATE A KILLER ONLINE RESUME!

Focus on ONE Thing at A Time

2008-08-12T17:04:00.001-07:00

So you think you can MULTI-TASK? Talk on the phone, write an email, switch songs on your ipod, and contribute good ideas to the conversations, all at the same time?
Well, we all try and do it of course but new research has shown some interesting results about true focus.
A study by Uni of California found that distracted individuals (ie: multi-taskers) store information in a part of the brain that is different than that of the more focussed learners. And the result is they can't recall the information as easily, as the focussed learners.
Plus Uni of Michigan researchers believe multi-tasking is flooding our bodies with stress hormones and adrenaline which can lead to long-term health problems. (Source BRW Sept 3, 08)
Just one thing left to do then........ONE THING AT A TIME! Yes truly focus on one thing at a time and do it really well.
However, I also believe in good use of that time - so even though you may focus on one thing at a time you can have a few of those one things going at the one time. So you can get dinner started by putting the water on to boil, then put a load of washing on while you wait for it to boil, and then write a blog post from the notes you made on the train on the way home, and then chop up the vegies, then find a good podcast to listen to while having your dinner.......and so on! But each time you focus on that one activity to ensure you do it really well.
Same works at work!
When you are focussing on your task delete as many of the distractions that may hinder that focus. Turn off the MSN thing that has you know when your friends have come online, don't have the little envelope come up in your toolbar when you have email (so you are not tempted mid-blog post to go and check that one or two emails that may have come in that are not important really!.....yes I resisted!)......and just focus. You will do it faster and better!
So bring on the multi-tasking but one task at a time.

Learning online

2008-08-03T16:38:00.001-07:00

You wanna test your skills as a CEO? Well go and play this game: http://www.ceosurvivor.com/ A great fun way to build your skills and play against friends or the leader board. It is a game developed by the MGSM – and of course they want you to apply for an MBA out of it! But hey, looks like a fun way to be a CEO for a while.

Started by aussie entrepreneur Brendon Cropper is Digital Cadet http://www.digitalcadet.com.au/ for all of those of you who want to learn more about online advertising and marketing. Looks good.

PS: Don't forget here at The Frank Team we have some awesome learning for young entrepreneurs!

FREE DOWNLOAD! Our article on Secrets to Systemising Your Business - http://www.frankteam.com.au/entrepreneur/secrets-download.html

NEXT EVENT! Our next Young Entrepreneurs Event - August 14^th - Castle Hill, Sydney - http://www.frankteam.com.au/entrepreneur/free-seminar.html

APPLICATIONS OPEN! Our Young Entrepreneurs Stepping Up Program Sydney - http://www.frankteam.com.au/entrepreneur/marketing-systemise-program.html

Build Your Creativity – Build You as an Asset

2008-07-31T17:55:00.000-07:00

I went to a business innovation workshop this week, and interestingly enough it focussed on creativity. Being able to come up with new ideas, new questions and being able to express them clearly is becoming a fundamental skill for all of us, in order to fuel innovation with those ideas. Those who have the ability to be effectively creative (come up with ideas) and implement them (innovative) are highly valuable and becoming even more so. Sounds right enough, but how creative are you? How do we become more creative?

Someone did a study on creativity. I’m not 100% sure how “creativity” was defined, but the results were interesting nonetheless. Apparently 98% of 5 year olds are creative, 30% of 10 year olds are creative, 12% of 15 year olds are creative and less than 2% of over 35s are creative. (Source: Dr YKK You Are Creative). Woe – I understand all of those 5 year olds wondering around in their fun fantasy lands are highly creative, but that it declines so rapidly is quite scary.
So how can we lift ourselves out of this void and re-ignite our brain that created all of those battles in the backyard with aliens from Plotonia?!

Ways to ignite and develop your creativity:

- Laugh alot; this helps creativity

- Activate your right brain as much as you can by using the left half of your body eg: brush your teeth with your left hand, tie your shoe laces with your non-dominant hand, brush your hair with your non-dominant hand etc.

- Hang out with people who have different ideas, views, styles and lives to you. Tom Peters says “Hang out with weird people and thou shalt become weird. Hang out with dull people and thou shalt become dull.” So bring on the weirdness!

- Find a role or take on a role in your work life that requires you to come up with new ideas all of the time, there is nothing like the constant need to have new ideas to have new ideas.

- Hang out with 5 years olds and create and fantasise with them. Just throw yourself into it and build the cubby house and fight the dragons, put on funny accents, wear dress up clothes, dance silly – and I promise I wont tell anyone how much you enjoyed it!

- Do some theatre sports; this requires on the spot thinking which is great brain exercise, but also pushes you to just go for it with ideas.

- Do something “cultural” regularly eg: look at art, listen to different music, see a live show. Anything that makes you look at life from a different perspective and so opens up new ways of thinking and seeing things.

- When people around you mention or contribute what you may consider to be silly or outrageous ideas, instead of responding straight away with a “geez that is stupid, no way is that possible”, answer with “That sounds interesting. What do you mean? Please tell me more.” This is because often in the somewhat silly idea is the seed of an amazing idea, and with discussion and input from others it becomes that amazing idea.

- Deliberately ask the “Why” and “What if” questions to yourself and others. This will force you and others to re-think assumptions and come up with new ideas.

- Meditation is a great way to quiet the mind and focus on nothing for a while. From this nothingness all possibilities open up. Find a meditation that works for you – whether it is just 5 minutes of breathing with complete focus on your breath, or saying a mantra......there are many methods, so find yours.

- Create a new look with your clothes. Wear them in different combinations, wear colours and just create something new with them for yourself.

- Brainstorm with coloured paper and textas. Bring out the kid in you.

- BIG TIP: Start a scrapbook or notebook and record all of your ideas that you have. You can also record your dreams in this book too. This is so your creative flow of ideas comes out in front of you, to re-read at another time when you can act on those ideas. Some of these ideas may for you to do something with, or for you to give away to others to help them. Just give your ideas a place to be.

- Take a piece of paper and write 10 – 15 words that are not associated at all. Then take another colour and circle 2 of those words – then force yourself to think of how they are connected and record that connection. Do that again until all words are linked and you have found ways to connect the ideas behind them, from no-where.

- Read, read and read more! Turn the TV off – that thing is a sure way to dull the brain and have you NOT THINKING – and pick up a book or search online and read. Read biographies, read stories, learn how others come up with new ideas, see what the latest inventions are in the world.......just sit and read for 30 minutes and fill your brain with new content. Oh, or course watch some great content – see below for 2 great ones to start with.

- And lastly get out and exercise! Yep, the good ole run or walk or dance or skip starts that oxygen pumping around the body with helps to relax and clear your mind so creative thoughts can then pop up. And of course, it is great for your health aswell!!!

Dr YKK (www.mindbloom.net ) – who gave the workshop – also left us with a great quote from Albert Einstein: “Great spirits have always experience violent opposition from mediocre minds.”

So great spirits out there – go forth and unleash your creativity and ideas unto this world, we need them. And don’t listen to those mediocre minds!!

Tell us about the ways you like to be creative and massage that right side of your brain....

Two great watches:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AGTpu_i8sc – Tom Peters
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html – Do schools today kill creativity? Sir Ken Robinson.

2008-07-21T20:40:00.000-07:00

Has Creating the Business of Your Dreams Stalled?

Have you noticed how insanely hard you are working although you’re unclear as to why you seem to still be at square one? Have you noticed that you seem to be changing from one task to another to another and it never stops? One minute you’re paying invoices, then you’re answering phones, then you’re going out to network with a new client. It’s insane. Imagine yourself doing this same process for another five years, perhaps another 25 years. Do you think you will build the business of your dreams?

Let me let you in on a secret: if you are always doing the technical work in your business, you will be doing that work for the rest of your life. If you always take control of every single situation and task required to be done, you will always be the person responsible for doing it. Ifyou are your business you don’t actually own a business. Instead, you have a job.

Free download 5 Secrets to Systemising Your Business

A successful business is something that works with or without you. Let me tell you a story about McDonalds that was started up by the McDonalds brothers. Ray Kroc was actually the CEO of McDonalds and the man responsible for turning it into a massive global business by franchising it; the McDonalds brothers were the guys who actually invented the idea of McDonalds and ran their little store. Ray Kroc systemised the McDonalds brothers business and created franchises all around America. The McDonalds brothers never managed to expand their business beyond one store because they were the ones flipping the burgers, taking orders and making sure bills were paid. The difference was that Ray Kroc owned a business and the McDonalds brothers had jobs in their business.

Jessica Kiely, a very successful young entrepreneur, had a similar type of problem in her business and found that she was doing everything. She recently went through the transition of setting up her business to have systems. It almost killed her writing down her first system about how to produce one of her workshops. Once she had written the system down she hired someone to take over the system and run the production in her business. The relief she felt from delegating one of the responsibilities in her business allowed her to focus on other parts of her business and continue to grow it, getting her closer to having the business of her dreams that runs entirely without her.

We at The FRANK Team have noticed that you like many other young entrepreneurs face major challenges when growing your business, because you don’t know how to systemise it and stop doing all of the jobs inside of it.

Jessica has written an extremely helpful guide on the process she went through to help you on the road to systemising your business.

You can download for free her 5 Secrets to Systemising Your Business now and put yourself back on the path to growing your dream business. It is time well invested!

Want to learn more?

FREE seminar on Secrets to Systemising Your Business

The FRANK Team would like to invite you to a free young entrepreneur’s workshop on systemising your business where you will gain valuable secrets from people who have successfully systemised their business which allowed them to grow their dream businesses.

Secure your spot now

P.S. There are only 25 seats available to this event so secure your spot quickly

If you know someone who could benefit from attending this event, please forward this opportunity on to them. We love to reach out to a wide range of young entrepreneurs!

Where will the event be held?

Baulkham Hills Shire Council
129 Showground Road
CASTLE HILL NSW 2154

Time & Date

Thursday, August 14^th.

6:30 – 9:00pm – Expert Talks

9:00pm – Networking drinks

ANNOUNCING the Young Entrepreneurs Stepping Up Program – Kickstart Your Marketing Systems Program

The FRANK Team have a very special 8 week intensive workshop and mentoring program coming up on how to easily set up your marketing system and grow your business faster. More details will be revealed at the FREE seminar, on how you can apply to be one of the participants.

The YESUP program will be run by The FRANK Team and made possible by the NSW Department of State and Regional Development (DSRD), the New South Wales Government's business development agency. DSRD delivers programs and services that support the NSW Government’s commitment to winning new business activity for NSW, and developing the capacity and productivity of the State’s economy. For further information on how DSRD can help your business go to www.business.nsw.gov.au

FREE Frank Team Career Workshop

2008-06-30T22:19:00.000-07:00

Young Women’s Mentoring Program Presents:

YOUNG WOMEN &

CAREER WORKSHOP

For young women aged 15-25 years

Tuesday 15^th July 10a.m.-4p.m.

OVER 6 HOURS THE WORKSHOP FOCUSES ON:

1. An ‘organiser’- creating powerful first impressions, managing your time, dressing for business, business etiquette, networking skills

2. A set of ‘keys’- how to open doors of opportunity, volunteering and networking, stories of successful business and career women.

3. A ‘map’-setting achievable life and career goals, mapping your finances and learning how to budget.

4. An ‘eye mask’- how to create your own stress solutions and use visualization.

During the course of the day, you get to work in groups and on your own. Each group of participants is guided through the program by a successful and experienced professional woman who acts as a mentor for the day. The mentors inspire and allow you to interact with a successful role model. The Program is run by FRANK Team- www.frankteam.com.au. Lunch is included.

This is a free workshop run at North Richmond. Numbers are limited. Phone Kate Mason on 4578-4190 to book (Bookings essential). For more details of The Young Women’s Mentoring Program go to www.myspace.com/ywmp

Grad Programs - Are they hitting the Mark?

2008-04-29T00:59:00.000-07:00

Many large and small companies have graduate programs for their new recruits. To what extent are they hitting the mark for those young and eager young professionals? Are you getting what you want that help you on your career path? Here are some ideas I put together - tell me if you agree and how your company is measuring up!

Retain your grads – Copy Google!

Google Inc has recently been chosen as the Australian graduate’s employer of choice, with Macquarie Bank and Microsoft a close second and third in a survey by CareerOne.com.au in February 2008. A Onetest study also found that if a graduate’s needs are met, 39% would stay with a company for 3 – 5 years and 30% would for 5 years or more.

So what does Google do that has the grads swarming to them and sticking around? What do graduates “need” that you can deliver on? How can your organisation mimic Google and get those same results?

Google is known for its fun culture as well as being a highly reputable and successful company. These are two key elements that attract and retain grads there. So how is your company viewed in the graduate market? Do you have a good reputation? It is that reputation that gets a graduates attention in the first place. And what about your culture from a graduates point of view. Would it be considered fun?

Research has also found that graduates are also looking for:

Roles with responsibility

Training and progression plans

Acknowledgment

Access to opportunities like travel

Competitive salary

Work/life balance

The “how’s” of these are many and varied and you need to find the right mix for your company’s graduate program, or for those one or two grads you’ve just recruited. Here are some suggestions:

Help grads to work out what it is they REALLY want to do in their careers and how you can help them achieve that. This generation is seeking purpose and satisfaction but often struggle with working out what they really want in amongst all of the options they have. Provide some time, training and coaching around exploring this and it will have them develop trust and respect for you and your organisation.

Getting it right from the beginning involves being clear and up front about salaries, expected work-loads, explanation of day-to-day functions in their first role and how that will evolve. These should all to be covered in the recruitment phase.

Understand that in the recruiting process that it’s not just your company choosing the them, it is also them choosing you!

Be honest! If you expect your grads to work long hours, let them know. This is better than just dumping it on them when it’s needed and when they weren’t expecting it.

Create a graduate network that has regular events and socialising activities. This will help them with the transition into full-time work, and will increase the ‘fun’ factor as they’ll be spending time with friends, not just colleagues.

Set up mechanisms from the beginning to assist them with career planning within the organisation. This could be anything from online systems, to regular career goals sessions with managers, to career management training to ensure they are taking responsibility for this. This allows them to see the bigger picture and how their role will develop overtime.

Provide lots of information about the training the grads will receive. They are usually highly aware that they have the degree but not necessarily all of the skills needed to do the job and will appreciate the reassurance that training and support is provided. Let them know you’re willing to invest in them.

Focus on a graduate’s potential, interests and values and use those to create the best rotation plan for them and the organisation, so that everyone wins. This can be part of the career planning that is put in place at the beginning, and leads to strategic rotation plans for individuals.

Have ongoing touch points in their first six to nine months with an emphasis on personal and professional development for the graduates. This could take the form of training, presentations, time with the directors, events, meetings with managers or off-site forums. You can also use these as opportunities to acknowledge the graduates for progression, achievements and the like.

Match them up with mentors from across the organisation. This helps with access to opportunities and career planning. Some level of structure or assistance will ensure an effective mentoring relationship is formed.

Ensure managers have an understanding of the graduates needs and they are equipped to work with them effectively. Plus ensure they have the time required and are making it a priority to provide the regular feedback that these grads are seeking.

Consider some reviews are taken by people who are not the graduates manager/s to encourage more openness

Show you care about them as a person by giving them structured time off to learn something non-work related eg: volunteer work, art course, or team stuff like Artescape (http://www.specialevents.com.au/archiveprev/2001/11nov01/featnov01/art.html) or Go Karting

Work with them on their need for work/life balance by starting with the expectation that the things they will want time off for are concerts, trips with friends, travel, and other fun life stuff that they don’t want to miss out on. Be clear on your organisations needs in regards to their role and responsibility and work on finding the win-win. There is nothing that will turn a grad off quicker than missing out on the “must-see” concert/event/holiday/whatever that all of their friends are going to because their “boss wouldn’t let them.”

Give grads evidence that your organisation acts ethically and is socially aware. This may be through information about your CSR programs and how they can get involved.

Communicate the values or the organisations and the values you are looking for in grads to ensure you get grads whose values are aligned to yours.

Ask them directly what is or isn’t working about their grad experience. Help them to explore it if they don’t know. And use this collective information to re-vamp and re-fresh your graduate program.

Set up special innovation teams where grads and other employers can provide ongoing ideas on ways that new technology, especially web 2.0, can be used to do business better.

Provide training for the grads on how to work with multi age teams.

There is also an opportunity for those providing career services to students. Career services at tertiary institutions could also be helping students to learn more about these career realities. From starting salaries to career progression can be explored in Career Readiness presentations and workshops for students, as well as career management skills like self promotion, presentation and networking skills. This helps with setting up student’s expectations early with some frank information about those realities, thus helping organisations. But also, building students career management skills helps them to be in control of their careers early helping employers with their career planning programs.

The Frank Team can work with organisations and career service providers to implement and refresh your graduate programs. They know how to blend creativity and fresh thinking with process to implement the ideas. They provide workshops, presentations and consultancy services. More information is available for Employers at http://www.frankteam.com.au/corporates/ and http://www.frankteam.com.au/youth2youth/workshop-package.aspx for Career Service Providers.

Your Career Pathway

2008-04-15T18:16:00.000-07:00

Did you know that $1.3billion is lost to the economy in poor and mixed transitions of young people per year (DEEWR 2008). That is from young people starting in one area and then changing after realising it is not for them, or changing tertiary courses, or moving around to really find “what they want to do”. Part of this is inevitable as it does take some time to work it out, but perhaps with a little more self reflection and quality career advice at a younger age it would reduce this amount and have more young people “living” what they really want to do earlier in their careers.

Through our Frank Team workshops and programs we often hear the comment “I wish I had done this analysis earlier”. What is involved in this analysis?

Explore past experiences, achievements and milestones since your were about 14 years old.

Identify those elements that stand out because they helped you to learn something, you thoroughly enjoyed, you felt strongly about or gave you great satisfaction.

See what actions and skills describe those moments and how important they are to you

Combine your top ones into a perfect job description.

Reflect and see is your tertiary studies or current work conditions in line with this job description.

If yes, woo hoo! Keep progressing in that area. If no, then where would you like to get to and how are you going to do that. This may involve a re-think and some changes.

This basic analysis of skills, actions, values and interests is essential and really listening to what the results are saying to you.

When you are at the beginning of your career journey, what should be a part of everyone’s career program to help this analysis?

Combine study with work experience and on the job training. This is so you can take your theory and put it into practice straight away. But also it has you experience the “real” world in that area/industry earlier so you can really work out if it fits with you.

o You can do School Based Apprenticeship and Traineeships these days that do on the job training and school study. It is a wonderful way to get this combined experience and get a foothold into the job market early.

Don’t expect it all to be “fun and games.” Some people start in their chosen career/industry and within 2 weeks start saying “I hate it.” Now if this is truly connected to not enjoying the core work involved then fair enough perhaps you need to re-think and potentially change. But I would say 2 weeks is not enough to truly experience and see the opportunities in that career/industry. Everyone has to start somewhere, and sometimes that is at the bottom but there are always opportunities and ways of learning more and moving ahead; so perhaps you need to grit your teeth and see it out a little further before making the rash decision of doing a complete change. And remember, your progress is UP TO YOU so start finding the opportunities and doing something about it.

Online personality and career quizzes are available to help you too. Check these out below, but remember that many of these “quizzes” are limited and need to put you into a box so use them as a guide only rather than a decision making tool! But be honest with yourself when you are filling them out. See if they indicate you are heading in the right direction.

o http://jobsearch.gov.au/careerquiz/careerquiz.aspx

o http://www.jobjuice.gov.au/jobjuice/apps/quiz/views/quiz.aspx

o http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/quiz/career_quiz1.asp

o http://www.personalitytype.com/quiz.asp

o http://www.hr.unsw.edu.au/osds/mycareer.html

Go to networking events to meet the people who work in that area. See if they are your kind of people, what they are talking about and what different career paths are available in that area.

Check in with your own motivations. Are you going into that industry for the right reasons? If you are doing it cos all of your friends are doing it, your parents want you to, it makes good money or cos it sounds like fun then you may not be 100% happy in the near future. Career choices need to based on your passions, interests and aspirations. Combine this with your skills you enjoy using and you should see a few options open to you.

Encourage your school/university (or seek out for yourself) to start:

o Having guest speakers in many different areas/industries.

o Regular reflection on activities (from work experience, to sport, to musicals etc) to see what skills you have learnt but most importantly what elements of them that you enjoyed and would like to learn more about.

o Check out websites about careers and early career development.

o Encourage parents to tell their career stories to students and their kids.

o Build your career management skills eg: networking skills, presentation skills, goal setting.

o Have local employers do presentation about what day-to-day is like in their organisation and the career opportunities.

These are just some initial ideas – what do you wish you had done earlier to help to work out what you “really” want to do?

They say that you can tell you are on “purpose” when your work doesn’t feel like work; well for at least 60 – 70% of the time! That feeling of enjoying yourself, feeling happy and being positive the majority of the time in the workplace shows that you are in the right place. If there is a lack of motivation, you are disengaged or just plain unhappy then you probably want to have a re-evaluation of your career and put yourself in the driver’s seat of making some changes. Anything is possible, so see what you can create for yourself!

Consistent Self Marketing

2008-04-14T23:52:00.000-07:00

They say it takes on average 6 contacts with a potential customer before they buy. If we take this sales principal and link it to your career and your own self marketing campaign we see the importance of regular and consistent contact with your network to keep them fresh, hot and for them to convert into real opportunities for you or them.

Consistent and considered marketing with the aim of relationship building and self promotion is essential to career success today. Contact every 6 weeks is good timing.

How to do this?

1. Regular networking to connect with your contacts and meet new people. This can be on and offline networking these days with online conferences or in-person evening events and breakfasts.

2. Summarise some tips you have learned from a recent speaker you have heard and share them with your network.

3. Regular catch up phone calls.

4. Email an article to your contacts that you have written that they would find useful. Or add it to your blog and direct your contacts to the new post.

5. Add a subscription option to your blog to continue building your network. I know this may seem scary for the non-techny people (like me!) but it’s not too hard, and totally worth it, so persist!

6. Follow up any “new” people you meet the next day and then add them to your database.

7. Bunch together any recent positive comments or feedback you get from customers and email them to your manager. Add other positive feedback people on your team have also got too.

8. Update professional photos on your professional Facebook page and send to your contacts.

9. Remember birthdays! Send a quick ecard or email or even an old fashioned but much loved snail-mail card!

Career Development Week

2008-04-06T16:58:00.000-07:00

Did you know there is now an official "National Career Development Week"? Yep! From 2 - 8 June. All over Australia Schools and tertiary providers will be running events to help people learn more about careers today.

We put our thinking hats on and thought of what would be some fun things we wish we had going on at our school when we were there (all them years ago!!) to help us learn more about careers today. This is what we came up with.....which ones do you like?

NATIONAL CAREER DEVELOPMENT WEEK

Some easy & effective activities to run at your school:

Even if all you have is some lunchtimes, morning roll-call or afternoon time slots, there is still a lot you can do….

· Your “event crew”! Ask for a group of students who are interested in running events, like big comps, or weddings or the like, to come and get together to run some activities for career week with you. They would get to see what it is like to run an event!

· Themed guest speakers or panels of guest speakers at lunch each day (Themes could be: fashion, journalism & writing, sports, small business, doctors/lawyers/dentists, but give them a cool name). You can use your past students here. To keep the interest up and to have the students generating the interest themselves, ask a different student each day to be the MC who introduces and thanks the guest speakers, and gets the students asking questions.

· Sure fire way of getting students involved – make a competition out of it! Possible house career competitions that can run all week and contribute to the overall house points running in the school. Or individual competitions with cool prizes will also work:

o Write a Career quiz each day that is handed out and completed in Form time and submitted to your Careers Centre. You can then announce the winners at morning assembly. Some of the questions could involve students asking teachers questions about their careers, or going online to find out average starting salaries of certain jobs, and required experiences to get into a certain industry. Of course winners are awarded house points or small personal prizes!

o A group of students from each house/grade could source someone interesting to interview about their careers (a past student, someone they know etc). These interviews could be done as written or via another media (video, mp3 etc). The best of these interviews are chosen, and then they are shown at lunch time on the Friday to all of the school. This whole process could be taken on by your English department and students complete a module of their curriculum while preparing videos for Career Development Week.

o Guess the 1^st job that your principal and vice principal had – this helps students to see that you have to start somewhere, and everyone has very varied career paths these days. Have a running record of everyone’s guesses somewhere in the school where everyone can see it. Then announce the winning guess and points again go to houses or a personal prize is awarded.

o House/Group debate on a career topic (like Does the Glass Ceiling Still Exist Today for women! Or Does school prepare you for Careers Today!) during a lunch time.

· Teachers could be encouraged to use in class time to tell the students their career story. Students could try and guess their 1^st jobs!

· Run career tips over the PA during the week

· Run a jobs market at one lunch time, where all of the real and current casual and part time jobs available in suburbs located close to your school are displayed for students to look through and apply for. Have some assistants there to help the students work out the best ways to apply for the jobs. You could make this part of class time as well for commerce.

· Staff vs student debate on a career topic (like does the glass ceiling still exist today for women!) during a lunch time.

· Mock Interview Panels: Either during lunch or specific class time a mock interview panel is set up for students to test their interviewing skills.

· Job Interview Skills – The What, Why & How of WOWing them in job interviews.

Remember, here at The FRANK Team we specialize in providing creative education solutions that inspire and empower young people to make their career, business & community goals a reality. Our authentic, fun and innovative skills training, guest speakers & resources are especially designed for young people.

University Investment - Make it Work for You

2008-04-06T16:40:00.000-07:00

The Australian Scholarships Group (ASG) has a new online calculator to help estimate costs for completing a university degree today. You can find it at www.asg.com.au and click on the calculator link. It can even take into account the differing costs for someone studying while living at home, or those moving out.

For someone living at home to become a teacher it is about $56,700. For a nurse it is $41,900. And for an Engineer it is $70,000.

Big numbers and that is only for the textbook learning you get in the lecture rooms.

Career success and career development is about making that investment work for you. And not leaving it until you leave to build on that investment.

It is imperative today that while you study you are getting practical work experience, building your network of contacts and learning from mentors and leaders in your field. This is what will see you move ahead and make the most of your tertiary study investment. Finding ways to bring your learning to life, put it into practice, see where it fits or where it doesn't. The responsibility of this lies with you as you are the CEO of your career.

So how are you making your University Investment work for you?

Check out www.frankteam.com.au for great articles and resources that will help you learn more.

Online Reputation Management

2008-02-19T13:21:00.000-08:00

One of the KEY ME INC: Career 2.0 Skills I have identified is the ability to promote yourself and run your own marketing campaign throughout your career. Obviously the web is an amazing tool to open yourself up to the world for opportunities, but it can also work against you. Part of your self marketing campaign needs to also be about online reputation management.
Everyone Google's everyone. What comes up when they search for you? Are those results going to help or hinder you?

A recent piece in Trend Hunter reveals what some celebs are doing to protect their reputations online. Compare the results when you type in Paris Hilton to Kate Moss. Moss has looked after her rep by employing an online rep team to "launder" some of the information about her to ensure only the good stuff turns up first, and all of the other more dodgy stuff is hidden about 3 pages in! This service can cost anything u to $25,000 apparently.

Now, most of us don't have that sort of cash of course, so we need to be our own online rep cops to ensure our reputation and profile is the best it can be out there on the world wide web!

What to do?

Every 3 - 4 months do an online rep audit - checking through all of the usual places (MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter etc) and ensure only the BEST YOU is being seen!

Better go and do my audit right now!! Happy searching.

Career 2.0 Whitepaper NOW AVAILABLE

2008-02-17T20:08:00.001-08:00

To get your copy of the Career 2.0 Whitepaper:

Career 2.0 Whitepaper

2008-02-17T18:44:00.000-08:00

The Essential Skills & Attitudes Needed For A Successful and Fulfilling 21st Century Career

The emergence and proliferation of Web 2.0 technology has not just changed the way we use the internet and communicate with our friends, its impact is also being felt in the career world. This new technology, ever evolving, is profoundly influencing the range of essential skills and attitudes needed today to initiate, build and grow a successful career.

The Web 2.0 World is faster, interactive, immediately global, constantly shifting, interdependent, user controlled and highly connected. This has bought with it great opportunities for individual careers as the world is now your market. The potential is exciting but it places new demands on the individual who wants to thrive in this Career 2.0 world.

Web 2.0 is a catchphrase that has come to describe the “new” generation of services and sites found on the internet that are highly interactive and user generated. In the past websites were mainly used either as information portals, or ways to purchase things. Now, web 2.0 is used to describe the social networking sites, wikis, blogs and aggregators that allow users to command and create their own content, collaborate with others and share it with the world. With this in mind Career 2.0 is a term that I have created that describes “new” generation career skills and how web 2.0 technology is being used to build and manage careers in the 21^st century.

An ability to adapt, to change, and be flexible are now standard expectations, as is an ability to use Word, PowerPoint, email and Excel. Web 2.0 demands a new generation of skills, which are set to become the basics for successful career development.

The first adaption to make is to your attitude. Think of yourself as a business, ME Incorporated or Me INC. The new generation skill sets are departments in your business that need to be functioning effectively in order for your business to be profitable and sustainable.

You are the CEO in charge of your business, your career, and its ongoing development. Your goal is success in the 21^st century, in whatever way you define success. How can you be a successful CEO? How do you create success when times have changed, where new rules and where new knowledge is required?

Like any good CEO worth their million dollar bonus (!) you need to find out what resources and skills are required to attain the goal, and how to obtain them so they are part of ME INC.

THE Six Career 2.0 Success SKILLS

Self Leadership Skills
Ethical Entrepreneurial Skills
Self Promotion & Marketing Skills
Global Networking & Relationship Building Skills
Team 2.0 Skills
Technology 2.0 Literacy Skills

For your copy of the FULL whitepaper to learn your Career 2.0 Skills - email jessica@frankteam.com.au

Digital Education - Australian Government

2008-02-07T18:05:00.000-08:00

Good to see the Aussie govt beginning to implement programs and strategies that will start to equip school students with essential Career 2.0 technology skills. Their strategy includes not just computers and internet access, but also curriculum as well.
Guess we wait and see how good it is.

However for those of us no longer at school or further formal education, we have to learn it ourselves. Stay tuned!

It begins!

2008-02-07T17:32:00.000-08:00

Welcome, and thanks for visiting.

It was at the end of last year (2007) when I had one of those lightbulb moments. However this moment was not so light, but had a tinge of grey to it. I had realised after hearing all of this talk about Web 2.0 "stuff" I was scared to tip my toe in. I am no tech-geek, but still adept at the MSN and facebook stuff, the easy stuff, but I was beginning to see that the world was moving ahead and I was getting left behind. It was also a moment when I realised that just sitting back and relying on my skills I had built up was not going to be enough any more, no matter how good those skills were. I was becoming outdated - and I am only 31!

So I decided to take some of my Xmas hols and dive on in and see what I found.
It was interesting, thrilling, entertaining but also very very overwhelming, but I persisted.
What started to emerge was pieces of a puzzle that I was putting together.

I could see that millions of people were using these technologies, most of the sites I had never heard of nor had most of my friends, but mostly what I noticed was that these technologies were amazingly powerful....especially when used for personal career purposes. My business The Frank Team has worked in the area of careers, entrepreneurship, innovation and motivation for over 6 years now, and so I was starting to see how all of this "new" technology was going to start moving across into that space. And I could see that the skills required to work within this new world were becoming more demanding, but there were often no places to go to find and learn those skills.

And that is where ME INC: Career 2.0 Success Strategies came about.

I have put together a white paper (coming soon!) that outlines the 6 KEY CAREER 2.0 SUCCESS SKILLS and how the Web 2.0 technology can be utlised to help YOU today to create and build a highly successful and fulfilling career in the 21st century. This white paper will then be used to create Frank Team workshops that bring it to life and ensure you can learn and practice these skills.

Welcome to the conversation & the learning space.
Learn and discover with me.