The Australian, Entrepreneur ONCE upon a time chocolate was the preserve of the rich. That’s if you could find any decent chocolate to eat — a chocolate culture didn’t really exist in Australia. Then, inspired by their travels, local entrepreneurs began trying to replicate what they had found abroad. One of the first was Yarra Valley winemaker [...]

The Australian, Entrepreneur ONCE upon a time chocolate was the preserve of the rich. That’s if you could find any decent chocolate to eat — a chocolate culture didn’t really exist in Australia. Then, inspired by their travels, local entrepreneurs began trying to replicate what they had found abroad. One of the first was Yarra Valley winemaker [...]

The Australian, Entrepreneur A well-meaning government code to clear up franchisee confusion may be badly flawed, reports Ed Charles March 30, 2007 GOVERNMENT moves to make the franchise industry more transparent have been cautiously received by the $128 billion sector, with worries it will lead to more red tape and increased costs and that important elements have been [...]

You can create a marketing buzz on a small budget, writes Ed Charles IT’S the classic business dilemma. You’re launching into a crowded market and the main competition has a marketing budget of tens of millions of dollars, whereas you have a few thousand. You can’t compete head-on. The only option is to use your wits and [...]

The business of sharing cars has taken off in Sydney and Melbourne, writes Ed Charles SOMETIMES you have just got to do it. Car share plan GoGet came into being when founders Bruce Jeffreys and Nic Lowe put their own cars — a ute and a diesel station wagon — into the first incarnation of their [...]

Money might not grow on trees, but it certainly can appear under them, reports Ed Charles October 27, 2006 FIRST we started exporting wine to France. Now Australia could be doing the same with that most exotic of ingredients, the truffle. Prized by top chefs, the truffle is the aromatic fruit of an underground fungus — the most [...]

There are small but determined new businesses brewing in the heady world of beer, writes Ed Charles Entrepreneur, The Australian, August 25, 2006 THERE’S no going back. Cameron Hines, joint founder of the Mountain Goat microbrewery in Melbourne, says: “Once you start enjoying and appreciating your beer, it’s almost impossible to go back and drink crap.” The founders [...]

Freshness, production on site and good cheer are part of the successful recipe at a gelato outlet, writes Ed Charles FINDING and motivating the right staff is always a problem for business. Now Trampoline Gelato chain is looking to develop a gang of at least 40 small business entrepreneurs to grow its chain. Trampoline opened its first [...]

Moves are afoot to help even out the balance of power in franchising, writes Ed Charles ONE of the problems of being a small franchisee is that disputes with the franchisor are unequal. Franchisees are often small businesses while the franchisors are big, multi-million-dollar businesses that can leverage their market power and afford large legal bills. But [...]

From The Australian, Entrepreneur: Detailed research and some great timing has paid off for this niche market player, writes Ed Charles THE secret of a successful product is that it must be something that people want. And it must be something that a lot of people want most days in their lives. For businesswoman Ivone Ruiz it [...]