INTHEBLACK > In the trenches Service is one of those funny things. Some companies care a lot about it and others don’t. But as far as the customer is concerned it can make or break a relationship. Nowhere is there a more concentrated microcosm of the good and the bad of customer service than the restaurant. [...]

The Australian, Entrepreneur FOOD franchises are the fastest-growing franchises. On the league table of fastest growers, six are taking some sort of health angle on food: Sumo Salad, Big Dad’s Pies, Healthy Habits, Noodle Box, Pizza Capers and Crust Gourmet Pizza Bar. Tim Dixon, CEO of consultant Franchise Works, says the high street is so dense with [...]

The Australian, Entrepreneur AUSTRALIA is behind the rest of the world with online shopping. According to online researcher Hitwise, just 6.75 per cent of Australian internet traffic last month was for shopping and classifieds. In the US, 9.54 per cent and Britain 9.61 per cent of traffic was in this category. In the DVD market, 10 per [...]

IN THE BLACK: In the trenches Cool customers: the growing Chinese consumer goods market may give us the greatest lessons about understanding the customer. By Ed Charles Knowing your customer is essential to the success of any business enterprise. China is the market that many multinationals are concentrating on. So how does one begin to understand this [...]

The Australian, Entrepreneur An online questionnaire can help employers sort the chaff from the grain when it comes to recruiting workers, writes Ed Charles. THE internet is a wonderful thing for job hunters. Once an online resume is created, it can be sent almost effortlessly to as many potential employers as the applicant wishes. The SME recruiter, [...]

From The Australian, Entrepreneur: The independence flowing from having your own business can come at a high price, Ed Charles discovers | August 31, 2007 MEN work longer hours than women, and self-employed men work longer still. The problem for the entrepreneur is to take control of the hours worked. “The self-employed just work a lot more and [...]

INTHEBLACK - In the trenches Over a thousand years ago whisky was born in Asia. Only now is it experiencing a rebirth. By Edward Charles. Chinese youths are increasingly turning away from the nation’s traditional potent spirits, known as baijiu, in favour of whisky as their alcohol of choice. In the bars and discos in Shanghai, [...]

Here’s the problem: Australia is very good at digging stuff out of the ground, and it’s very good at planting loads of stuff in the ground and growing it. What the country isn’t so good at is making high-value products – whether they be minerals or food staples – out of those raw materials. According to [...]

Big 4 firms have traditionally aimed high. But now that they’re turning their attention to the middle market, just where does that leave mid-tier firms? Something’s in the air. First Big 4 firm Deloitte swooped on the Melbourne office of mid-tier firm BDO. Not long after it scooped up the Sydney business of Horwarths, also a mid-tier firm. [...]

‘Come into my office.’ Now there’s an expression to make everyone’s pulse quicken. Even if your boss is a good sort, you are likely to become all defensive. ‘What have I done wrong?’ you ask yourself. In fact the adrenaline in your system has kicked in because you have become conditioned to act that way. [...]