I think that traditional business plans are mainly for convincing banks to lend you money, or for organisations with a strong corporate structure. A business plan is for SOMEONE ELSE. What would be more effective is something designed for YOU. My personal opinion is that a business plan should be replaced with: 1. The Vision […]

While the story of Steve Jobs and Apple dominates the landscape of business case-study success stories, there are lessons to be learnt about how to build a great business from a whiskey blender called Johnnie. Leverage: while most whiskey distilleries devote themselves to the time consuming (10-20 years) and laborious task of creating whiskey, Johnnie […]

Tracy_Bartram_300911-YouTube sharing Initially establishing herself as a comedian, Tracy Bartram became a household name in Melbourne in the 90’s when she co-hosted Melbourne’s top-rating breakfast radio show. But there was always a lot more to her that she wanted to express through music, performance and teaching…and heal within herself. In this video, Tracy shares the […]

We’ve been hit by a barrage from the media of late about how tough retail is doing it. About how consumers are switching to online in droves, about high profile retailers closing their doors, and the demise of bricks-and-mortar bookstores – most notably Borders in Australia. Like many of my generation, and older generations, I […]

The conventional wisdom on systems in business, popularly articulated in books like The E-Myth, pushes the idea of systematising your business, creating an asset, and then selling that asset. A smart strategy. And at some stage in the future you will enjoy the benefits of this work. But the reason to implement systems in your […]

There’s a shift in consumer culture that is starting to value experiences over possessions. A desire for authentic experiences amidst a reality that is increasingly manufactured and contrived. And a desperate yearning for human experiences within a digital world. Or is it just me? This scenario places artists and creative types with an opportunity to […]

A couple of recent experience have prompted me to reflect on my approach to my creative work: I went to see the band The Felice Brothers play on Thursday night. A great American band whose music cannot be easily classified, but traverses the territory of folk, rock and country in the tradition of Bob Dylan […]

There’s a new type of entrepreneur plying his art on the streets of Melbourne. When cars stop at a busy intersection he turns it into his stage, performing a short show with a crystal ball. He balances the ball on his head and then skilfully moves it around his body in a performance that appears […]

The worst type of thief steals a creative idea and passes it off as his own. History’s greatest thieves steal ideas, improve them, and then give them back. In a digital world, ideas are crying out to be borrowed, manipulates, reworked, repackaged, and generally messed with in a cool way. Take, for example, the amazing […]

If you’re in the business of breathing life into ideas, you’ve probably spent time thinking about when to share them, and when to keep them quiet. One side of the spectrum clings tight to a paranoia that by putting ideas out there they will be stolen, counterfeited or bastardised. The side not governed by fear […]