The view from the Australian Writers’ Centre

Administration coordinator at the Australian Writers’ Centre

·           Part-time, leading to a full-time position
·           Milsons Point (North Sydney) close to train station
·           Winner in the Telstra Business Awards

Hi, my name is Valerie Khoo and I’m looking for a very special administration coordinator to help us with our constantly expanding writers’ centre.

Before you go further, please visit our current website: www.WritersCentre.com.au

There is a lot going on here. We’ve recently expanded to Melbourne and other states will follow. We are Australia’s fastest growing writers’ centre.

What does the role involve?
This is a part-time role in Sydney at the equivalent of around 3 days per week, with room to grow to 4 to 5 days.

You’ll be part of a team that has been a winner in the Telstra Business Awards and that has become the “go to” centre for writing courses – both in the classroom and online.

This role is for someone who is super organised, totally anal, and has the utmost attention to detail. You take to filing like a duck to water, can’t stand spelling mistakes and love creating a neat and tidy work environment.

You are a stickler for professionalism, presentation and punctuality. You are not afraid to take responsibility for projects but also have no problem doing the minutiae that comes with administration.

The range of work is diverse but underlying everything you do is your attention to detail. In fact, if you’ve been accused of being overly anal, that’s music to my ears. As we grow, I need someone who can take care of critical details because we pride ourselves on our professionalism.

You are passionate about customer service and in helping our students with any enquiries they may have.

We are a small team and there is no room for big egos. We all pitch in to do the work, no matter how mundane or how exciting.

Your work could involve activities including but not limited to:
* Supporting the course manager in coordinating all courses and logistics
* Assisting the course manager in marketing-related activities
* Answering queries and customer support by phone and email
* Coordinating photocopying, handouts and all student materials
* Filing and maintaining accurate records of course materials
* Ensuring our training rooms are well presented and equipped
* Stocktaking all training requirements including stationery and refreshments
* Assisting in administration of online courses (strong computer skills are essential)
* Assisting with our customer relationship management system (training will be provided)
* Processing enrolments both online and offline
* Administration using a range of online tools that we use in the day-to-day running of the Centre (we’ll train you but, again, you must already have strong computer skills)
* Filing, printing, liaising with other members of staff on administrative issues
* Keeping in touch with students and being proactive in helping them with their interests, passions and goals
* Running errands which may include anything from buying emergency stationery supplies, banking, or visits to the post office.

What skills are required?
Attention to detail. Attention to detail. Oh, and did I mention attention to detail?
While you don’t need experience in all the software we use, you need to be happy to learn these new skills. If you’re not that interested in being involved in the internet and online platforms such as forums, blogs, e-learning and social media, this job isn’t for you.

You DO need:
* an interest in writing and/or books is ideal
* intermediate skills in Word and Excel (essential)
* a pleasant and helpful phone manner
* very strong skills in English and writing (if you make spelling mistakes, this job is not for you)
* attention to detail
* experience in Indesign is desirable but not essential
* strong organisational and administrative skills
* a commitment to excellence in everything that you do
* a desire to help other people (particularly our students and presenters)
* oh, and should I mention attention to detail again?

Hours
The role is about 3 days a week. It is likely to increase to 4 or 5 days as we grow.

This is ideal for someone who wants to work:
1.30pm to 6.30pm Monday to Thursday. (Our evening classes start at 6.30pm so we make a point of being available for any pre-class queries.)

However, variations on this will be considered for the right person.

We are also growing the number of courses we hold on weekends so you need to be flexible to adjust your hours to include weekend work approximately once a quarter.

Salary will be commensurate with experience.

If this job ad looks familiar, yes we did advertise for this role at the beginning of the year. Our beloved Phoebe is leaving us to take up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. While we will miss her a lot, we are also cheering her on to follow her dreams.

What next?
If you’re interested in applying, please send the following to:
jobs [at] writerscentre [dot] com [dot] au

1. A cover letter explaining:
(a) why you are interested in the role and
(b) why you are a good candidate for the role

2. Your resume, including at least two professional references. Please include your contact details, this is essential.

Applications close 5pm Friday 7 June 2013.

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Sarah Hamilton, bellabox

I’m a big believer in the power of bloggers. I know that, in some cases, I will trust the advice of a credible blogger and rely on their recommendations. And smart business owners are understanding that they can tap into this influential medium in order to reach new customers. This inspired this week’s Enterprise post.

When it comes to promoting your business, an increasing number of entrepreneurs are reaching out to bloggers to write about their products and services. In the past, there were few options available to business owners. You could pay for advertising, or hope that you would be given coverage in mainstream media. These opportunities were limited, often confined by the number of pages in a publication. However, the world of blogging has opened up new channels for business owners to reach their target audience.

Tram Tran started her online shopping site Koogal in February 2013. She focuses on selling fashion to 16 to 26 year old women. “When I was at university I started selling my old clothes on eBay,” says Tran. “It was a hobby but then I noticed that there was demand for certain types of tops and dresses, so I began sourcing them and selling on eBay.”

Tran says she realised that she could make a bigger margin if she opened an online store. This is so she could avoid the fees charged by eBay and PayPal, which she used to take payment. “I used Shopify to create my online store. It was really easy. I spent the weekend uploading pictures of the clothes and then my site was ready to go,” she says.

You can read the rest of the article here.

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Patrick Llewellyn, 99Designs

Packing up your life, selling your house and moving your whole family to another hemisphere is a bold move. But that’s exactly what Patrick Llewellyn did when he was given the task of turning 99designs into a global business. He inspired this week’s Enterprise post.

Patrick Llewellyn was on a plane back to Australia from the US when a fellow passenger had a heart attack mid-flight. The plane was forced to turn back and stop in Hawaii so the passenger could get medical attention and Llewellyn found himself in a hotel room on an unexpected and extended stopover. “I was sitting there answering emails when I realised that I’d never been to Hawaii before,” says Llewellyn, who is the CEO of 99designs, a crowd-sourced marketplace for graphic design.

Llewellyn, 40, decided to make the most of it, venturing on to Waikiki Beach where he took his very first surfing lesson. “As soon as I stood up, I was hooked,” says Llewellyn. It’s was a rare moment of relaxation for the CEO of a fast growing company that now experiences $1.8 million in transactions each month and has over 200,000 registered designers.

Although 99designs was founded in 2008, Llewellyn didn’t join the team until September 2009 and then moved to the US in February 2010 to spearhead growth in North America. Shortly after, he became CEO, after founder Mark Harbottle stepped back to focus on his other entrepreneurial pursuits.

At the time, 99designs had 10 staff in Melbourne and four in the US. Now, there are about 90 staff spread across the globe including 46 in the US, 34 in Melbourne, eight in Berlin, and two in Paris.

You can read the rest of the article here.

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Wineglass Bay, Freycinet Peninsula, Tasmania

Loving: This week I was in Tasmania. I’ve had a soft spot for Tassie ever since I went there for my version of Schoolies at the end of Year 12 … decades ago! This trip, I visited Freycinet and it was stunning. Apart from sampling some amazing Tasmanian produce, here’s what else happened:

I did my best Stig impression when I went quad-biking.

David the activities coordinator showed us how to shuck oysters straight from the marine farm, then brought out some bubbles to go with them.

My favourite bridge in the world, Spiky Bridge, on the way to Freycinet. I go there every time I'm in Tassie because it's just so weird looking.

I'm wearing fly-fishing gear but I can't focus because I'm annoyed at the missing apostrophe (there should be one after the n).

Meeting: Wonderful writers in the Australian Writers’ Centre community in Brisbane and Perth. My travels have enabled me to connect with our students and they never cease to inspire me with what they achieve!

With Cassy Small in Brisbane

Marvelling at: 3D printing
I can’t wait to get my hands on one of these. Startup blogger Steve Sammartino invited a bunch of us over to see his new 3D printer in action. This one prints plastic but you can also print glass, titanium, a range of metals and even wood (using wood chips).

Here it is in action. A program on your laptop provides the specs and then you simply watch your product take shape.

Here is the final product.

Recording: SMaC Talk
I’m having a ball recording our weekly episodes of SMaC Talk, my new podcast with fellow authors and bloggers Kerri Sackville and Allison Tait about what’s been going on around the social web. You can download it on iTunes or listen to it here.

L-R Kerri Sackville, Allison Tait, Valerie Khoo

Thrilled: To spot my book Power Stories: The 8 stories you MUST tell to build an epic business at Brisbane Airport just minutes before I received an email with the news that it’s being translated into Spanish. Hola!

"Power Stories" is going multi-lingual!

Talking about: All things blogging. I could talk about blogging for hours. And I almost got my wish. Well, for an hour anyway on ABC Radio last weekend. Thanks to all the callers who rang in with questions!

See you at: The third seminar in the Let’s Talk Business seminar series. This one is about “People and performance in the new workplace”. I’m be MC-ing. If you stop by, come say hi!

When: Tuesday 21 May 2013

Where: Lower Town Hall, 483 George Street, Sydney (enter via Druitt Street)

Time: 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm

Cost: Single Tickets $55.
You can get tickets here.

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I’m always interested when I hear stories of entrepreneurs who want to take over the world. This is often because I’m in awe of their sheer audacity and boldness to dream big. But I’m even more interested in the steps they plan to take to get there. When I heard serial entrepreneur Nick Cloete’s plan for his start-up Kounta, it inspired this week’s Enterprise post.

Building a successful business is like mastering a game of chess. As an entrepreneur, you not only need a strategy to win, your moves need to be timed perfectly to make the most of opportunities. Like chess, you need vision, persistence and the skill to coordinate all the players in your team to work together towards your goal.

That’s what serial entrepreneur Nick Cloete has done all his life. Apart from a one-year stint training to be a chef when he was 18, Cloete has always run his own businesses.

Masterminding a winning strategy
Cloete, now 30, is currently founder and CEO of Kounta, a point-of-sale software platform for the retail industry. The cloud-based platform is aimed at small to medium sized businesses and costs $50 per month per “cash register”. It is designed so that it can work with any device (such as iPhones or tablets) or be integrated with existing point-of-sale hardware.

It is being used with businesses such as Sonoma Baking Company, George Gregan Espresso and Gelato Messina.

You can read the rest of the article here.

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One of the funky bars at The Abbotsford Convent where I might see the Very Famous Hollywood Actor

This week, a Very Famous Hollywood Actor is filming for 10 days around the Australian Writers’ Centre in Melbourne. I’m pretty excited because I used to have a huge crush on this man. I’ve seen the production schedule – complete with details of all the buildings, steps and facades where he’ll be acting – and I’ll admit that I’ve been tempted to bring a foldable chair and set up camp next to the film crew just to watch.

I’ll call it research. Who knows? I might even blend in. Perhaps I can offer some suggestions on how they can improve the script!

Fortunately, I’ve managed to quell this kind of stalker fan-girl behaviour when I’ve interviewed celebrities as a journalist. Many people ask me who has been my most enjoyable person to interview.

To be honest, I actually find many entrepreneurs far more interesting to chat to than celebs. This is largely because when you interview a celebrity, they are usually on a gruelling schedule, have just finished a major project and have done nothing else but live and breathe that film, album or world tour for the past six months.

Nevertheless, here are some of the highlights:

Hugh Jackman. On the set of Wolverine. Yes, yum.

Cindy Crawford. Really tall.

Kylie Minogue. Really tiny.

Joel Edgerton. I used to have a big crush on him too.

Christian Slater. Charming. He let me squeeze his stress ball.

Will Smith. I felt his biceps. They were MASSIVE.

Britney Spears. She gave me a Britney doll. NO JOKE.

Matt Damon. Very well brought up. His mum should be proud.

Jon Bon Jovi. Be still my beating heart.

Of course, the latter (JBJ) is my favourite. And now that he’s touring Australia later in the year, there is a chance that my stalker fan-girl behaviour may emerge again.

Maybe I should get some practice in. So, over the next week, you might find me taking a lot of coffee breaks, nonchalantly wandering out of our Melbourne office and accidentally ending up on the nearby movie set. If you happen to see a familiar face in the background of the next Ethan Hawke movie … you’ll know who it is.

The post A Very Famous Hollywood Actor – and me! (sort of) appeared first on Valerie Khoo.

Michael Gerber

What do Michael Gerber (The E Myth), Michael Port (Book Yourself Solid), Chip Wilson (founder of Lululemon) and I have in common? We’re all speaking at the Wellness Business Owners World Summit this year.

I’m thrilled to be speaking alongside some thought leaders that have had a big impact on my life.

When I first read The E-Myth by Michael Gerber years ago, it transformed the way I thought about business. Michael Port’s Book Yourself Solid was one of the first books I turned to when I first started my business eight years ago. And as for Chip Wilson … well take a look at my wardrobe – ALL my workout gear is Lululemon.

Chip Wilson

Now, we’re all speaking at the Wellness Business Owners World Summit in June.

Not only am I thrilled to be speaking alongside people I respect and admire, I love the wellness industry. A few years ago, I found that most of the people who came to me for business mentoring were personal trainers, nutritionists, and health practitioners. I’ll admit that, at first, I couldn’t understand why I was attracting people from this industry since I’m not a wellness practitioner myself. At one point, 90 per cent of my clients were personal trainers or gym owners!

Michael Port

I’ve always resonated with this industry and it’s one I’m particularly passionate about. Even though I’ll admit to sometimes being a workaholic, I will always prioritise health and healing. You only have one life – you may as well make it awesome!

If you’re interested in the wellness industry – or in being successful in the wellness industry – you can check out the Wellness Business Owners World Summit here. There’s also a pre-summit if you want a taster. See you there!

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It honestly still surprises me when business owners pooh pooh social media as a valid tool for marketing. Granted, not every business is going to thrive on social media. However, I believe that if you’re not even open to the possibilities it can bring, you’re shooting yourself in the foot. And you’ll be left behind if your competitors embrace it before you do. This attitude inspired this week’s enterprise post.

Last week I met a business owner who insists Facebook is a waste of time. Let’s call him Greg. He was chatting to a group of people at a party, some of whom tried to convince him to give it a go. Greg was adamant and insisted any time spent on Facebook – or on any other social media platform – should be spent having a conversation with a prospect or customer in person or on the phone.

While face-to-face interaction is vital in the world of business, the reality is Facebook – and other social platforms like Instagram, Pinterest or Twitter – allows you to reach a much bigger audience much more efficiently. And this can turn into dollars in your hand.

Just ask Dean Ramler, 30, founder of online furniture store Milan Direct. He launched his business in 2006 and, about 18 months ago, decided to venture on to Facebook. He created a page for his business and, in that time, more than 25,000 people have “liked” his page.

Engagement versus likes
It’s a fan base many businesses would envy. However, Ramler says the level of “engagement” from fans is far more important than the number of “likes”. After all, you might have a huge number of fans but that effectively means nothing if they don’t respond to your posts, share your news, or, ultimately, turn into paying customers.

You can read the rest of the article here.

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L–R: Networx Brisbane MC Cat Matson; and my fellow panellists Natalie Birt, yours truly and my co-founder in SocialCallout.com Michelle Palmer (© James Sybille, Square-I.co Photography http://square-i.co/

Last week, I was on a panel at a Networx Brisbane on “The Changing Face of PR: The Rise and Rise of Blogger Relations”. I’ve been heavily immersed in the blogosphere for years now and it’s been fascinating seeing this industry evolve, particularly over the past couple of years.

The reality is that it’s evolving very quickly and some bloggers are becoming powerful media channels in their own right. Some are only at the start of this journey, while others have created businesses for themselves out of their blog. So it wasn’t surprising that the organiser of the event, Iceberg Events, had to turn people away as the function booked out!

I could talk about blogging all day!

We also filmed this video on the tips you should consider when working with bloggers:

The video was prepared by Ride Free Media

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Andrew Ganesan, lambada.com.au

I love the idea of bespoke accessories and fashion. And now there is an increasing number of businesses that let you design your own bag/shoes/clothes online. I’ve often wondered how in the world these businesses are able to create effective systems to ensure that customers get the product they are expecting. With this interest piqued, I interviewed two entrepreneurs who have created online stores supplying custom-made bags and suits in this week’s Enterprise post.

In the past, it would cost a small fortune to design your very own unique handbag, or get suits tailor-made to your measurements. Even you if managed to find a cheap tailor while on holidays in Thailand, you could only buy your custom-made goodies on your annual beach vacation.

However, smart entrepreneurs are cashing in on the fact that some people are keen to sport bespoke garments and accessories. Andrew Ganesan, 27, is banking on this trend and is taking bespoke design to the masses.

His family has run a leather bag manufacturing company for 25 years and his mother used to save leather offcuts and turn them into her own handbag creations. As her friends requested bespoke bags for themselves, Lambada was born, a business that focused on customised bags. That was 22 years ago.

However, creating custom-designed bags for individuals is a labour intensive activity. So, six months ago, Ganesan revolutionised the way the business operates by taking it online. Now, customers design their bag – picking colours, leathers and designs – all online. And he has developed a business that can scale as demand increases.

You can read the rest of the article here.

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