Type of News

Strategy for Small Business Success

The NSW Government has released a discussion paper on the up and coming NSW Small Business Strategy 2020. They are seeking feedback on issues that affect business in NSW. Cessnock City Council’s Business Capability Study (2019) identified that 86% of our businesses are micro and small (employing fewer than 20 employees). Therefore, it is critical…

Play here, Stay here campaign launch!

Australian Golf Digest has announced that it has launched an initiative encouraging golfers across the country to ‘Play here, stay here’. Nick Cutler, Managing Director of Australian Golf Digest said “We have heard directly from the courses themselves and tourism bodies how the bushfires have directly impacted traffic, and now the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak it’s…

Support for bushfire hit Wine-Grape growers

Bushfire affected wine-grape growers across NSW will have access to free smoke taint tests, through a new program funded by the NSW Government. Deputy Premier and Minister responsible for Disaster Recovery John Barilaro said NSW businesses were heavily impacted by the bushfires and the NSW Government is acting quickly to ensure communities and industries get…

Cessnock City Council drives home the Hunter Valley as a golfing destination!

Cessnock City Council has launched a new initiative reinforcing the Hunter Valley as a great golfing capital of Australia. Council has partnered Cypress Lakes Golf and Country Club, Hunter Valley Golf Club (Crowne Plaza), The Vintage Golf Club, Kurri Golf Club and Branxton Golf Club to launch a booklet promoting the region’s golfing assets. Council’s…

Using the Cessnock CBD Shared Zone

The Shared Zone is an area where pedestrians and vehicles safely share the road space. The Speed limit is 10km/h and there are no road lines, kerb or gutter. Drivers MUST give way to pedestrians when using the Shared Zone.

Using bcc on emails can avoid a data breach in your business

Many people don’t realise why emails have a bcc field. Most email platforms have a function called blind carbon copy (bcc), which means that you can send an email out to a large group of people without sharing their email addresses amongst the recipients. But why is this important? Sharing email addresses to a wide…

Two thirds of Australian workers experience bullying

Bullying is often in the media, although it’s usually linked to the behaviour of school age children. But according to findings from a recent study by the University of South Australia (UniSA), Australia ranked sixth worst for workplace bullying when compared to 31 European countries. Cultures that lead to bullying Lead researcher, Associate Professor Michelle…

Implementation of Hunter Valley Wine Country Signage Strategy

Council is currently rolling out the street signage component of the Hunter Valley Wine Country Signage Strategy, in the Pokolbin, Lovedale, Mount View and Wollombi areas.   The new signage, which includes street name signs and pictogram signs, is being installed at all intersections within ‘Wine Country’ as replacements for the existing street name signs…

Tax apps saving time and money

Keeping track of your finances in a small business can be a full time job. Tools that make this less of a headache can save you time and your sanity at tax time. There are numerous receipt scanning apps out there that can do a range of different things.     Some apps just take…

Debt recovery apps are a low cost way to improve small business processes

Debt recovery app getting results

Cash flow is the life blood of any business, it needs to keep flowing or the business dies. It is estimated that Australian small businesses are currently owed $26 billion dollars. But what can you do to get your overdue accounts paid?       Well there’s an app for everything these days. The debt…

Dealing with negative reviews is part of getting important feedback for your business

Dealing with negative online reviews

Everyone likes to be liked. So what should you do when someone goes online to say they don’t like your business, product or customer service? How do you deal with negative online reviews?   According to a survey by Bright Local, reading a negative review stops 40% of consumers wanting to do business with your…

Fair Work Ombudsman website has templates for businesses to use

Hiring staff – getting the paperwork right

Being in business can be a daunting proposition. The owner of a small business has to be a Jack (or Jill) of all trades, or at least be across what is supposed to be happening in all aspects of their business. It’s easy to hire a new employee and plan to get back to complete…