YOU CAN CONNECT WITH YOUR CLIENTS There are few things that get entrepreneurs as excited as when they get to interact with their customers. Rather than hiding behind a series of automated greetings, small business owners thrive on dealing one-on-one with their best clients – or making the decision to get rid of those customers they don't like. When you own the business the relationships that you create with clients, staff and suppliers are 'real' and not 'fabricated' like they are when you work for a corporation.  

PROMOTION YOU CAN GET THINGS DONE – FASTER It takes years to climb the corporate ladder, and often the wrong person is promoted ahead of you. Or brighter and smarter young colleagues come along and get ahead of you on the corporate ladder, after you have spent years waiting patiently, and doing the 'hard yards'. When you own the business you are instantly 'promoted' to the top of the company, there is no waiting to be recognised and rewarded.

YOU CAN CHALLENGE YOURSELF Some people thrive on the routine of their job – performing the same tasks day after day. As an entrepreneur, you can bet that each day will be filled with new opportunities to challenge yourself, be creative and learn something new.   YOU CAN FOLLOW YOUR PASSION Many entrepreneurs say the long hours they invest in growing their business doesn't feel like work because they're actually having fun in what they're doing. What could be better than going to work to do something that you are passionate about, rather than something that you have to do to get paid? Love what you do.

REWARDS   YOU TAKE ON THE RISK – AND REAP REWARDS   There's no question that owning your own business is a risky proposition. But, with risk comes reward. Said another way, the better you are at managing risk, the more rewards you can reap. There are an unlimited number of variables in almost every aspect of a business and as soon as you think you have things under control in an area, everything changes. The most fun is to work on a project for several years with your team, overcoming all of the obstacles, and then millions of people enjoy it around the world. What a reward!

Schibello Caffe has completed its dual acquisition to acquire the business and intellectual property assets of Cleanskin Coffee Co and Artecaffe Coffee Roasters. The Schinella and Sorbello families behind the NSW coffee company are hoping the acquisition will enable them to establish a foothold in the Brisbane and Sydney specialty market. Cleanskin is a café and roastery located just north of Queensland’s capital and Artecaffe is a roastery run by the Manassen brothers on Sydney’s north shore. Schibello said the purchase would increase its annual roasting production by 50 per cent to 728,00 kilograms. “Cleanskin Coffee Co complements and extends the company’s existing market penetration by providing the group with a specialist coffee brand to grow scale in the ever increasing Brisbane, Gold Coast and Northern NSW regions,” said Schibello’s CEO Ross Schinella. “Artecaffe adds to the strength of the specialty market in NSW and both acquisitions allow Schibello to stay in a position ahead of our competitors in an ever changing and dynamic industry.” Benchmark Corporate’s Emil Parthenides is responsible for brokering the acquisition. Emil revealed that he personally has three other prominent roasters under contract to settle by midyear 2016.

ENJOYMENT   YOU CHOOSE THE PEOPLE YOU WORK WITH When you work for someone else, you rarely get to choose whom you work with. If you don't like your co-workers it might be time to start sending our resume. That's not the case when you own your own business, since you get to make the decisions about who to hire (and fire). Surround yourself with positive people who give you the confidence and optimism you need to keep moving forward. Weed out the people that put out negative vibes. The smaller your organization, the larger choice you have about who you work with.

BALANCE   YOU CAN FIND YOUR OWN WORK/LIFE BALANCE   One of the most oft-cited benefits of owning your own business is the flexibility that comes with it, whether that be working from wherever you want, setting your own hours, wearing pajamas, or even sitting next to your pet while you work. Entrepreneurs say that owning their own business lets them set their priorities. They can take time off when it suits them, not when it suits others. It is a wonderful benefit of business ownership to be able to attend all of your children's school events, sporting events, etc – and to be able to give yourself time to do what you want to do, and not what you have to do.

CONTROL YOU CAN CONTROL YOUR OWN DESTINY Many business owners like to take control and make decisions. Owning a business saves you from being able to be sacked, retrenched, re-trained or replaced. Your future is in your hands, and you control the outcome. When you're in the "driver's seat", you are making the decisions on how best to navigate your company into the future. When you are able to make your own decisions about how best to operate day-to-day, this leads to creating a culture, a brand, and an organization – all of which you control.

Retailer promises to deliver world-class fresh Concepts   SPAR Oman plans to open 21 new stores in the Sultanate by the end of 2017 in its continuous endeavor to bring-in world-class fresh concepts across the country.   Dr Gordon R Campbell, Managing Director, SPAR International said, “KR as the franchise partner will give us the unique advantage of reaching out to customers across the length and breadth of Oman, owing to their strong local market knowledge and strong distribution network. Our partnership will also bring-in the international expertise and know-how in retailing, formats of the stores, layouts and design, merchandising operations and training.   “While SPAR International operates across different formats, in Oman our chief goal is to bring the supermarket concept closer to people’s homes. We will build more neighbourhood stores to bring value shopping to local customers,” Campbell said. The concept, he added, will replicate the country’s modern shopping experience to bring it closer home, giving customers the same quality and choice of products as can be expected of any super-mart or mega mall.   SPAR serves over 13 million consumers worldwide every day and has recently opened its third store in Oman, a 1,200 square metre SPAR supermarket in Madinat Sultan Qaboos, in addition to its first 700 square metre supermarket in Alkhuwair and second express store in Al Ghoubra.   Sridhar M. CEO, SPAR Oman said, “As a cooperative, SPAR has always focused on service to the community – an ethos that resonates with Khimji Ramdas.”   He also emphasized the brand’s commitment to empowering Oman’s burgeoning youth, calling SPAR a ‘school of retail’ that provides lucrative employment opportunities for those interested in a retail career.   “In the next three years, SPAR Oman will keenly look into sub-franchising with individual SMEs, giving them the thrust to scale up their enterprise into an international retail store,” he said.   On the customer engagement front, Devendra Kumar, Head Retail Division SPAR Oman said, “SPAR has brought in world class shopping experience for Omani Shoppers through its Core Values – Freshness, Value, Choice and Service. SPAR International trainers have imparted training in Customer Service, Category Management and Operational Excellence. All of these have shown encouraging results which are motivating us to open more stores.”   Some of the Khimji’s Mart outlets will be re-branded as SPAR supermarkets, offering customers a unique and distinctive choice of products from all over the world. The stores will be recognized for their fresh produce as well as for promoting local products.   Supermarket Specialist Mathew Hartley

SPAR International, the world’s largest voluntary retail chain, has announced further expansion of its global footprint with confirmation that the brand has opened its first store in Azerbaijan.   Located in Baku, the country’s capital, the new 1,800m² SPAR store has been established with local partner Araz which already services more than 37,000 customers daily and operates neighbourhood stores, convenience stores and supermarkets. Araz, which became a SPAR partner in April this year, was founded in 2010 and is part of Veyseloglu LLC, a leading retail and wholesale business which was established in 1992 and has over 2,500 employees.   Speaking at the official opening of the first SPAR store in Baku, General Director SPAR Azerbaijan Vusal Sharifov said, “Food retailing continues to be one of the most dynamic sectors of Azerbaijan’s economy and Araz has strong plans for growth, with the aim of opening more than eight new SPAR stores with a total sales area of 12,000 m2 by the end of 2017. The introduction of the SPAR brand into the local market brings global best practice to retailing in Azerbaijan and delivers a new and unique offering to local consumers based on the SPAR principles of freshness, quality, choice and customer service.”   David Moore, SPAR International Business Development Director said “Building strong partnerships, sharing international best practice and adhering to SPAR’s core principles has resulted in continued and growing interest from independent retail partners across the globe – particularly in developing economies.   “Our partners in Azerbaijan and Oman, have ambitious plans for growth in both of their markets and we look forward to working with them to grow their presence further into the future.”   The Azerbaijan opening brings to five the number of new SPAR countries in 2015 following store openings in Cameroon, Seychelles, Malawi and Indonesia.   Supermarket Specialist Mathew Hartley