Author Archive for Gail Geronimos

Talk hard with your bank

Published
by
Gail Geronimos
on October 21, 2008
in General
. 0 Comments

Hi

Have a look at the latest article in Smart Company about what SME’s are thinking about the coming 12 months. It’s not looking good.

I did a series of blogs  about what you can do to make sure that your company comes through these tough times. The key is access to ready cash - make sure that you collect all your debtors on a timely basis and keep in good with your banker and/or talking to other bankers.

Having cash is going to make all the difference. Don’t ignore cash from credit cards. It’s certainly not the cheapest money but when it makes the difference between staying alive and failure then it’s not a bad option.

Here’s an interesting story…

I am following my own advice and I called the bank to confirm my credit card details. Low and behold, WITHOUT my asking, they offered to reduce my interest rate by 7.25%. And that’s on a standard card. They probably thought that I was going to cancel the card. The only catch, I had to forgo ‘free’ travel insurance and frequent flyer points.  That’s a pretty good offer.

Now, I am a good customer and I make sure that all is in order with my cards. After all, these cards are my access to emergency cash.

And it gets better…

I have had 2 offers this week to transfer balances to other providers at rates as little as 10.99%. It getting very competitive!

My advice…

- renegotiate your credit limits upwards. But be very disciplined and only use in case of an emergency

- renegotiate all your interest rates. It will take time (you’ll be on hold forever) but at reductions between 7% and 10% it’s worth the wait.

Do it now. If you wait until you need to money you probably won’t get it. Everything is getting tight. You can’t afford to wait.

Banks are starting to be more flexible, take advantage of this opportunity.

Cheers

Have a read

Some relief…but stay tuned in

Published
by
Gail Geronimos
on October 14, 2008
in General
. 0 Comments

Hi

The markets have recovered some of the ground they lost last week. That’s a huge relief. Government action has given business and consumers a higher level of confidence and we’re seeing that flow through.

We’re not out of trouble yet and there may still be surprises in the US. Life is very tough there and both consumers and businesses are going through very difficult financial times. That will continue to impact on our markets. Any further crisis in the US will erode confidence.

In today’s paper I read that China is cutting back on steel production. Not good news for us. We are currently being cushioned by the resources boom with China as a major customer. Changes here will slow our growth.

As well, our PM expects unemployment to increase.

To help get through think about:

- make sure you have access to ready cash. Talk to your banker and make friends with an alternate banker just in case your bank says “NO”

- watch your debtors. Check your Debtor Days at least monthly. Don’t become a banker for your customers.

- reduce your debt as much as possible.

- read the papers. Keep in touch with what’s happening in the markets and review your own financial position.

Business insolvency has increased significantly over the last 3 months. Make sure your name is not on the list.

Cheers

It’s getting very bad

Published
by
Gail Geronimos
on October 7, 2008
in General
. 0 Comments

What a night it was. Staggering losses on stock markets around the world. And Iceland has frozen bank trading. Who knows what might have happened if the bailout was rejected!

It’s easy to sit back and think that the impact in Australia will be minimal. After all, our 4 major banks are in the top 20 in the world. That’s pretty impressive. Our system is well regulated and  Australian financial institutions did not engage in some of the wreckless lending practices as those in the US.

But, this is not the time for that sort of thinking. The impact will come and it will affect many businesses.

Cash is now more important than ever to get businesses through the tough times ahead. Here’s what you should be thinking about:

- get a few sources of ready cash right now. Before you really need it. Look at increasing your overdraft, get increased limits on your credit card, make friends with a few bankers

- check your debtor days. If your customers are taking longer to pay then that is a bad sign right now. They hold your cash. You are not their banker. Tighten up your debtor controls.

- manage your cash out as well. Look at every conceivable way to retain cash as long as possible.

- check your cash flow weekly. And I don’t mean looking at your bank balance. Work out a simple spreadsheet where you track your debtors and creditors for the next few weeks. Keep it simple. It doesn’t need to be perfect. But you will have a better idea of your cash a few weeks to a month into the future. Update these figures every week. It will take just a short time.

Lack of cash is going to slow growth and/or send a lot of companies broke over the next 12 months. Make sure you do everything you can to so that it doesn’t happen to you.

Cheers.

What’s Going to Happen Now!

Published
by
Gail Geronimos
on September 30, 2008
in General
. 0 Comments

Hi everyone

Earlier it was announced that Congress had rejected the Wall St Bailout. And sharemarkets around the world crashed. The Nasdaq was down just over 9% in a few hours.

What does it all mean for us?

First, money will be very tight so make sure you have access to enough cash to see you through in the next 12 months. Have a few options up your sleeve just in case your banker gets a little nervous and decides to no longer provide you with the funding you need. Talk to other banks and have a store of ready cash handy.

It will get worse before it gets better so don’t even think about riding out the storm. It will be a long wait and you just might drown.

Think twice about any major expenditure right now. Access to cash is going to be critical. The banks will certainly be getting very careful about the loans they make in the coming months.

I agree with many commentators who suggest that the system in Australia is better controlled but it will not save us from the economic fallout. It will probably be less than what the Americans experience but it will be felt.

China is still predicting about 8% growth and that will certainly help our economy. But I wonder about the state of their banking system. It is relatively new and was established in the boom times. Do they have the rigorous regulation in place to ensure the soundness of their banking system? I’ve not read much about that and there is a little warning bell in the back of my mind. Then again, perhaps I’m too cynical.

For now, batten down the hatches, don’t be too adventurous and take your bank manager out to a very nice lunch.

Cheers

The Minefield of Metrics

Published
by
Gail Geronimos
on September 24, 2008
in General
. 0 Comments

Minefield of Website Metrics

Hi

I’m doing lots of work on fine tuning our metrics for online marketing.

What I really love about online marketing is that you can measure everything. But the trouble is you need to sort out what the key measures are to help work out what makes money and wha doesn’t.

So we’ve come from not being able to get the metrics we want to being overloaded with numbers that don’t make a lot of sense.

And the next job is to put together a simple report that doesn’t take forever to compile and tells the story at a glance. It’s a huge balancing act.

I’ve come across lots of resources, so that’s good. Now to reduce the complexity to simplicity. That’s hard.

And then working out the benchmarks is the next step. What is a good open rate? What should be the target for bounce rates? How many unique visitors should I aim for?

I know that there are lots of variables to consider in answering these questions. The trouble with online is that it’s all very new and most people are still sorting their way through the maze of numbers.

We are constantly improving out metrics and you should be doing that as well. The better you measure the better the results from your campaigns.

I’ll keep you posted on how we progress. I’d love to hear how you are managing your metrics.

Gail Geronimos

Scary Economy in Europe

Published
by
Gail Geronimos
on September 9, 2008
in General
. 0 Comments

Hi everyone

I was in Europe for 7 weeks, longest holiday since I started my business. It was great. It went from the sublimely relaxing to extreme mountain stuff. The Austrians call it walking but it went far beyond that in my book.  We were in the Alps between Austria and Italy. I’ve climbed mountains in this region a few years ago but this was harder!

When we climbed we were roped up so if I fell I’d be OK. On this so called ‘walk’ over the mountains there was no rope and it got veeeery dangerous. I can tell you from first hand experience that fear does overcome exhaustion! It was 12 hours a day, up and down the mountains (max altitude was 2,450 metres) mostly above the tree line, sleeping in the huts (they are great) and then on our way early next morning.

But the scenary was just magnificant - from the high peaks, to alpine meadows, to dense forests and the wildflowers were endless in colour and variety. So the rewards were there.

Now to the economy…

The ‘relaxing part’ was spent in Sperl Cafe (Vienna) reading the papers and eating too much of that freshly baked Austrian cake.

The papers are full of doom and gloom, much more so than in Australia. The Georgia situation has re-ignited very negative feelings about Russia. That hasn’t helped. Perhaps the mood is best summed up by a comment from an equity investor that I met, ‘I’m advising my clients and colleagues to buy gold. Not the shares but actual gold. Even though prices may go down I still think that they’d be better off in the longer term.’

With a US election in November and the uncertainty in Europe we all need to monitor the implications for the Australian economy. This will impact on both business and personal financial positions. My advice, read the Financial Review and the more reputable commentators in the next 6 months. You might just save some money.

Cheers

Day 2 of our Internet Marketing Workshop in Brisbane

Published
by
Gail Geronimos
on April 8, 2008
in Events
. 1 Comment

Internet Marketing Workshop Brisbane

We’ve just finished our 2 day internet marketing workshop. A big job. It was go, go, go.

The big thing - we tested a new workshop model. Basically, keep the entry price low, provide great content with the very best speakers and have speakers sell their services at the workshop.

All worked (except 1 speaker who didn’t provide enough content).

Why this model? From a survey we did in February companies made it clear that they have no idea where to go to get the right suppliers. We heard horror stories about web developers who really screwed up websites because they didn’t understand marketing, people who paid the ‘Google Dumb Tax’ - in other words paid way too much for their Google ads, databases that were very broken and next to useless, etc, etc, etc.

I’ve paid dearly for some internet whoppers and I know how much that hurts.

Achaeus - Internet Marketing Workshop Brisbane

The Internet Workshop covered all the essentials of what companies can do to get effective internet marketing working for them. I’m feeling pretty good about it right now - the feedback has been great. We need to ’smooth logistics out’ but basically all else hit the spot with our participants.

So I’m looking at how we can help companies get the right advice from the right suppliers - read, and not paying a motsa for it. Anyway watch this space.

Cheers

Gail Geronimos

Easter Competition - Win a place at our 2 day workshop!

Published
by
Gail Geronimos
on March 13, 2008
in Events and General
. 13 Comments

Join our Easter Competition and Win

For the best internet marketing ideas submitted to us we will give away 5 places for ‘How to Turbo-Boost your Company using Internet Marketing’. A great Easter prize valued at $995 per place. Enter now to be one of our lucky winners.

To read more about ‘How to Turbo-Boost your Company using Internet Marketing’ click here.

To enter the competition…
Tell us about the best internet marketing story that you’ve come across or a successful internet marketing tactic that you have used. Continue reading ‘Easter Competition - Win a place at our 2 day workshop!’

The Devil Is In The Detail

Published
by
Gail Geronimos
on January 24, 2008
in General
. 3 Comments

Hi Everyone

You know by now that I’m mad keen on the internet. It’s going to be one of the biggest influencers in 2008. And we are well into gearing up to build a strong internet side of Achaeus.

InfusionCRM (our CRM system) is working - thank heavens! That was a difficult decision but it has paid off. It’s done everything that we needed it to do. If you don’t get the technology right in this business life will be traumatic.

Don’t believe anyone who tells you that you simply set up your systems and marketing and just collect the money. It doesn’t work like that. The devil is in the detail and it can drive you mad. Make sure you have a good techie on staff to plough through the technology maze.

We are planning a big internet workshop to share with all our colleagues and clients what we’ve learnt - warts and all. Some of the best internet marketers in Australia will be there.

Anyway, we’ll be covering all you need to know at our workshop. Contact me if you want more information.

Cheers

Gail

Want tips to outsource research?

Published
by
Gail Geronimos
on January 21, 2008
in General
. 0 Comments

Hi everyone

We are looking for a new internet product. And, like all of you, we don’t want to do the gruntwork. Now, I have absolutely no doubt that researching a new product is the most critical job - get this wrong and you’re stuffed.

So we spent literally days on the brief for our outsource talent. It took longer and was harder to do than we thought. The brief ended up being 1.5 pages. What a concentration of energy and thought!

Here is the structure that we used:

Purpose, what is required?, the ideal contractor will look like…, specific talent required, timeframe, report requirements, reference resources.

We posted the contract for 7 days on rentacoder.com, elance.com and guru.com. Guru and elance tend to focus more on quality and ratings. We had 16 responses - most of our responses came from rentacoder and were based in the US.

Then we prepared a table listing the bids against a set of criteria like:

done similar work, their ratings, experience, specialised in research, bad feedback, price.

We picked the top 2 , did a little more work and made a selection.

We spent a lot of time on this but the outcome is critical to our success. If your brief is sloppy the result will be sloppy. These contractors cannot read minds. Clear written communication is EVERYTHING. It’s not like having someone in your office where you can tic tac every few hours.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Gail

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