We have a Receptionist/Administration Assistant full time position available in a busy national commercial Real Estate office on the Gold Coast. The position involves answering and directing calls, advertising and marketing, mail outs, maintaining database and more. The successful candidate must have computer skills, exceptional phone manner, a happy personality, positive attitude, show enthusiasm and ‘A Can Do’ attitude. Please forward a covering letter and resume to: Benchmark Business Sales & Valuations PO Box 3694 Robina Town Centre QLD 4230 ashlee@benchmarkbusiness.com.au

It’s amazing what you will see, and what you can learn about your business, when you look at it through the eyes of a buyer. Have a look at your business, and what you have to offer. think about what a buyer is looking for and what they will find if they look at your business. Here are a few of the things that a Buyer is looking for. all buyers want: 1. to pay the right price. 2. to be told the truth. 3. Future security. 4. transparent accounts. 5. simple management & operation. 6. not to have to invest more in repairs or upgrades. 7. good presentation. 8. no reliance on “Key staff” (see tip Four) 9. no reliance upon “Key Customers or Clients” 10. none of the five “negative attributes” When you have taken a few minutes to look at your business from a different perspective, see if you can find simple ways that you can improve the presentation of your business. Can you ensure that your business gives a buyer some of the 10 points identified above? first impressions count! make sure that the Buyer’s first impression is a good one! We’ve all seen those television shows where a work team comes in and spends a day or two renovating and tidying up the home to prepare it for sale where in then the sale price and value is increased. the same thing applies to the value of your business. it can make a big difference to a Buyer’s first impression if the business looks neat, organized and “under-control”.

Market Overview – June 2015 If you have been sitting on the fence for the last few months then now is the time to jump off and get yourself into a new salon. Yes that is right, we are rapidly moving through the year and now is the time to put a salon under contract so that you have enough time to get the leases sorted and make the move before June 30 or in early July. We are seeing sale prices increasing as market demand for businesses starts to rise. Buyers are particularly keen on salon businesses which can demonstrate profits which exceed $100,000 a year – particularly those which are managed. Most salons put under contract in May/June will have a late June (to early) July settlements, so you can now choose which side of the financial year you want to settle in. There are some fantastic new sites that have just come on to the market so check our listings below and get in now before values rise even higher. www.salons4sale.com.au   John Kasapi 0422 930 549 Australian Business Brokers Of The Year Australia’ s Leading Salon & Spa Sales Specialist

Are you a cafe owner that is seeking that opportunity of a cheap site with a view to fitting out, renovating or just a face lift? If this is your option over buying an existing site with proven figures and fit out ready then take note. One of the biggest issues we see today from business owners in the hospitality industry (but not limited to) is: OVER CAPITALIZING! Before spending on that illustrious fit out here is something to think about.: In simple terms hospitality businesses are valued by EBITDA x multiple of an average of 2 times (no greater than 4 times). Or For every $1,000 in turnover per week x $10,000 to $40,000 value on the goodwill of that $1,000 turnover. So take an average cafe fit out with kitchen as an example: Based on empty store take over (new lease): -$200,000 fit out (at least for something decent) So, as a minimum without adding in cost of financing, marketing, opportunity cost of income loss during fit out, operating costs upon opening whilst sales not covering expenses, the minimum required sales per week to justify the above $200,000 fit out is: $12,000 per week for break even only. Most operators don't think carefully enough about the exit strategy. When the 'need' to sell comes along, owners who have over capitalized are unable to recoup what they have spent. A cafe business like any business should be about net profit but also about the value added on exit. As the old saying goes, "buy low & sell high", not the other way around. So, before going ahead with that fit-out, face lift or renovation get some advice from a business strategist. Think smart, numbers don't lie.   Specialist – Emil Parthenides Food Service Division benchmarkbusiness.com.au  

Buying:

• Choose Correct Field by Experience, Knowledge or Passion
• Look for right Location, Brand & Price
• Do a Business Plan with comprehensive Financial Planning
• Get an Expert Valuation of the Business
• Equip with adequate Training
• Make sure that you are trained and ready
• Hire right Staff
• Happy Trading

Operating:

• Customer Service should be No.1 Priority
• Train Staff regularly
• Train yourself regularly
• Update and concentrate on Stock, Category management & Merchandising
• Maintain Competitive Pricing & Promotions
• Presentation of the Store
• Develop a Point of Difference from other similar stores
• You – Working Hard is always effective but do not burn yourself out by working too hard
• Work on the business NOT IN the business

Selling:

• Exit Planning should start as soon as you buy a Business
• Determine a Time frame based on your needs to sell
• Plan ahead
• Be safe & ready
• Accept Reality (market demand is subject to change & may not be always what we want)
• Price the Business for Right Value, don’t overvalue the Business
• Prepare all the necessary paperwork with Accountant
• Select a Right Proactive Agent & Reputable Firm with Industry Knowledge
• Happy Selling
• Look for New Opportunities

  Service Station Specialist Karthik Arasu

Market Overview – May End of financial year approaches! May is the second busiest sales period in the year and there are lots of new listings this month so that is great news for all the buyers out there. If you are actively searching to buy a salon then now is the time to seriously start looking, make a decision to purchase in May, settle in June/July and get all the benefits of a solid trading period in the second part of the year. The overall salon market in the weeks leading up to Easter were very busy and the Easter/Anzac Day weeks were extremely active across all salon sales division. Now that the public holidays are behind us we will see solid trading conditions return and the overall retail/services market has stabilized and is improving. Tested Business Strategy Idea CLUBS – Loyalty Programs There are lot of Loyalty Programs around and salons seem to try them all with mixed results. What I have found over the years works are the following … Point Based Clubs – where the client earns points for spending, these are tracked by most Point of Sale Software systems and are easy to administer – (standard Qantas Frequent Flyer Program Format) Stamp Card Club – these are also good but in salons can take a while to redeem benefits so it is important to have a few prizes along the way to the big one at the end. (Standard coffee card format) Pre Purchase Club – a good club systems that asks the client to pay upfront some money to join the club and then they get benefits for being a member over a period of time. All clubs are designed to promote client loyalty and I think are a must in today’s salons to help lock in clients to the salon. I don’t have a favourite club and I have tried all of these in my salons over the years with mixed results. I would encourage everyone to put a lot of thought into the club before they launch it as it is something that is difficult to turn off once you start it.   John Kasapi 0422930549  Australian Business Brokers Of The Year Australia’s Leading Salon & Spa Sales Specialist  

LinkedIn is a professional network that has over 100 million members. Since it is a professional network, it makes sense to make it part of your social media plan. Here’s how you get started: 1. Personal Account — The first thing you need to do is create a personal account on LinkedIn. To make a company account, you have to also have a personal one. To begin, just go to www.linkedIn.com and enter the basic information. When you complete it, just click “Create My Profile.” 2. LinkedIn Profile — Before you complete your profile, a confirmation email will be sent to your email account. It will have a link in it – you need to confirm your account by clicking this. It will take you to the sign-in page where you enter your email and password. LinkedIn offers two services—a basic “free” one and a premium “paid” one. After you choose the type you want, you’ll be ready to click “Profile” and begin to edit your profile. Create both your personal and company profiles. For your LinkedIn profiles it is recommended that you add a lot of information. All the information you enter is searchable, so the more you have, the better it is for your business, and the easier it is to be found. When you’re finished preparing them, you can link your personal profile to your company profile. Make sure to add a detailed description of your business! 3. Company website — You’ll see a field for your company’s site and the type of industry. When you put your site, use the format: http://mywebsite.com. This will automatically become a hyperlink to your company from your personal profile. All the members of your staff can use this hyperlink to link back to your company. It’s a great way to be seen. Your industry field is searchable, so think before you choose. It will be a very good way to find potential clients and for them to interact with you. 4. Get involved — LinkedIn is the same as any social media site. If you want to be seen, you have to get involved. Make connections and contacts to start building your network. The exposure will help lead you to a bigger audience. After you get set up on LinkedIn, there are several features that it has that can be useful to help build your business. Here are a few: 1. LinkedIn Search — Search for others in your industry and/or for potential customers. The more you connect the bigger audience you will have. 2. Ads — You can look at several of the ads for businesses in your industry. This will let you see how they use LinkedIn Ads for paid advertising. 3. Import your email contacts — On LinkedIn you can import your email contacts from other email applications. This way you can begin to add LinkedIn connections to your existing email accounts. 4. Post Updates — Like Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn has a status update field. You can begin a conversation or post a link to an article you’ve written. 5. LinkedIn Groups — Like Google+ circles, LinkedIn has groups. They are members who share a common interest in a specific topic. They help you build a community, so this is great for your brand. 6. Reply to Updates — You can see all updates posted to LinkedIn. Begin conversations yourself or reply to someone else’s update. If you choose, you can elect to only see message from your connections or even set your own criteria. 7. Banners — You can add up to three custom banners to your company page for free. You can use them to: • Take customer testimonials, highlight them, and link them to your page. • Link to and promote an upcoming event or webinar. • Improve your target market by highlighting and linking to your blog posts. • Promote a video you’ve posted about your business. • Let others know of the various social channels so they can reach you there. 8. Post company updates each day — Post updates during the time of day you get the most traffic. For most, it’s in the morning. You can try different times to see what works best with your audience. 9. Send messages to your target market — Linked in has a Sponsored Inmail feature that works like email. You don’t need them on your email list. It just works from your LinkedIn. This isn’t a free service, but it can be worth it. Interested in knowing more? Give me a call, drop me an email, I am always happy to help. Written by Peter Spinda, CEO www.digitalduet.com.au Peter is the founder of Digital Duet, a Brisbane based company specialising in the design and development of business websites, marketing strategies and online business models. Visit Digital Duet today.

“Having dealt with a number of business brokers in the process of selling our businesses, we were constantly left disappointed and unsatisfied with the services provided. After many months of disappointment, we made the decision to talk to Benchmark. Within days, the team at Benchmark had produced a number of serious and qualified buyers for our businesses and within a very short time, Benchmark produced a buyer who successfully purchased all three of our businesses on terms satisfactory to us. We found Benchmark to clearly stand out from other national brokers as they were extremely professional, competent and understood the real process involved in selling our businesses. It was a refreshing and pleasant experience dealing with Benchmark and we will not hesitate to use then for all of our business sales in the future.” Business Broker Juan Parthenides

Too often owners approach us to assist in selling their RTO only to find that the business is not saleable. Not only because it’s not profitable or has no students. But because its registration, – the very asset that a buyer must have in order to continue the business, cannot be used by a new owner. Let me explain… The education and training sector in Australia is highly regulated. The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) which is charged with the responsibility of enforcing the regulations will not permit the transfer of a registration. Only the person or entity to whom the registration was originally granted can use it. It follows therefore that if the grantee is an individual or partnership, no-one other than them can use it…because it cannot be transferred. Therefore if the business is structured as a sole trader or partnership, the business cannot be sold. In most cases, the registration is in the name of a company and for a sale to occur, it is generally necessary to sell the shares in the company. All too often, the company is a corporate trustee for a trust and this can cause complications on sale as well. This structure is usually recommended by accountants for tax purposes when setting up the business but a lack of understanding of the regulatory requirements can lead to this having a detrimental effect when selling. It is most often necessary to separate the company from the trust before going on the market and this can involve a lot of time and money. If a registration is in the name of an individual or a partnership, it is most likely that it will need to be replaced by a new registration in the name of a company. Even if an application mirrors the existing registration, it is still subject to the same processing time (circa six months) and costs (minimum $8,800). There are circumstances in which a non-corporate holder of a registration can sell their business but the purchaser needs to already have a registration and will be required to apply for extensions to scope that mirror those of the RTO being acquired. This limits the market and is not always the means preferred by the purchaser. So if you are a prospective RTO seller, the first of your ducks to line up is to ensure the structure of your business is “sale-compatible”. Contact Russell Brockie to check your “readiness” for sale – and to find out how to maximise the value of your business.