Beating Around The Bush

Jill Rigney is from The Right Mind, specialising in improving businesses' capability (resources) and capacity (will and motication).  http://www.therightmind.com.au/ourpeople

Jill and her partner David have refined several programs that attacks time management from more of an energy and priority point of view and gives some very practical tips to getting the most productivity out of your day.

Bec and Rob Lomman own and run Seed and Sprout, a niche fresh produce business in St George, Queensland.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/seedandsprout/about/

http://www.seedandsprout.com.au/

After careers in various other industries, it's been a leap of faith for the couple, but they've taken it in their stride.

Despite having an existing customer base when they bought the business, Bec says it came with its own set of challenges.

One of the breakthrough moments for Bec was despite the huge amount of preparation before opening the business, including a lot of legal and financial advice, she felt she was completely under-prepared and had to reach out for more help, despite initially balking at the concept.

Beef producer Sonya Comiskey successfully runs a number of businesses from her home near Emerald, in Central Queensland. http://www.comiskeybeef.com.au/

In 2010 she and her husband Geoff bought their first lot of Bazadais cattle from the Bordeaux region of France( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bazadaise ) and quickly established a stud and crossbred commercial operation.

They are now working on the direct marketing of their beef brand, which has thrown up a lot more interesting challenges than they first realised.

Sonya says there's not a lot of resources for the average Australian beef producer to go down the road of branding their beef.

She uses the example of AACo, who have changed their identity, or branding over recent years. https://aaco.com.au/

Sonya has also launched a kids clothing brand called Born Country Baby, which is very proudly Australian made using Australian cotton. http://www.borncountry.com.au/

www.facebook.com/BornCountryBaby

Having now had various experiences through a number of industries, Sonya says there's a huge difference in the age, experience and enthusiasm levels between the beef and cotton industries for example.

"The educational resources of Cotton Australia is streets ahead of any other industry," she says.

http://cottonaustralia.com.au/

In this episode of Beating Around The Bush, Fleur Anderson tackles the concept of Angel Investing with Kris Trevilyan, an entrepreneur and jack of all trades from Banana in Central Queensland.

Kris' expertise on the subject is evident and she offers a terrific explanation of how it works and the risks involved.

Kris is involved in a Brisbane group of Angel Investors, who fall under an international banner. www.gust.com

But she recommends that to get involved as an Angel (investor) or an entrepreneur, do a Google search but base it around a geographical location.

With her current Angel projects, there's a lot of great ideas floating around, especially in agricultural tech, but Kris reckons the 'ap type stuff' is a real winner.

One to really keep an eye on is Like a Photon Creative likeaphoton.com

Two savvy females have realised the writing is on the wall for the way we traditionally watch television and have launched Kindergo- an education program for kids that can be managed through a timer and content choice and without advertising directly to the children. Winner!

As always, there's a Wikipedia article on the subject of Angel Investing, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_investor but to be honest, Kris does a much better job at explaining it.

Kris also talks about her own motivation behind her ever expanding skill set, including a real respect for Richard Branson's philosophy 'make the pie bigger'. https://www.ted.com/talks/richard_branson_s_life_at_30_000_feet

This week Rural Business Collective's Fleur Anderson has interviewed James Woodford from Youcamp. www.youcamp.com/founders

Youcamp is a website dedicated to bringing potential campers together with privately owned campsites and accommodation.

He goes through many business tips, including the importance of servicing the customer first and foremost, like through their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Youcamp-411029348992366/?fref=ts and other social media.

Fleur and James talk about some of the media coverage they've been getting such as this:

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2015/dec/21/share-economy-camping-why-staying-on-private-land-beats-mccamping

And also about some of the issues that have been coming up as the business develops, like protecting travellers, land owners and liaising and working with councils.

https://www.todaytonightadelaide.com.au/stories/you-camp

Contact them through any of their social media accounts, the website or on email: [email protected]

Terry McCosker is the Executive Chairman of Carbon Link- - http://carbonlink.com.au/

David Johnson is a researcher of sustainable agriculture and biologically based energy projects from the New Mexico State University https://iee.nmsu.edu/directory/david-johnson/

They are running workshops on Soil Carbon Trading. Register here: http://carbonlink.com.au/carbon-market/roadshow/

Information from the Australian Government on the Carbon Farming Initiative.

https://www.environment.gov.au/climate-change/emissions-reduction-fund/cfi/about

Fleur Anderson from the Rural Business Collective chats with Nicole Bond about launching a website showcasing Outback inspired artists and artists working in regional and remote areas of Australia. 

http://www.theoutbackgallery.com.au/

Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/theoutbackgallery/

Among the many pearls of wisdom, Nicole mentioned launching her business before she had completely perfected all the aspects she wanted. But it doesn't matter, small business is an ever evolving beast!

Finished, not perfect. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRtV-ugIT0k

Joy McClymont has really taken things up a notch this year. Taking her fitness business based 150km from Longreach on Dalkeith Station from a 'side gig to the main gig' after 7 years. She has recently taken out the 2016 National fitness achiever award from Fitness Australia and the list goes on. 

Enjoy this episode with Joy where we talk about making time for fitness and business and putting your best foot forward.

From the southern Qld town of Goondiwindi, Chrystal Henry has the best of both worlds. Fleur chats to Chrystal about running a business from rural Australia and taking a hobby and passion and turning it into a truly national business. Love Henry is a children's clothing label designed by Chrystal and stocked on retail floors all over the country and now in 2 of their own standalone stores in Westfield shopping centres.

Susan Bryant is from Seeds of Advice a leading financial planning service specialising in rural families. Susan works with families who want to transfer their family assets and their family values to the next generation. 

Fleur and Susan have a great chat about all things rural families and family business. 

Susan has provided a copy of her guide 'The Primary Producers last legacy guide' which outlines the 9 critical mistakes to avoid when considering retirement and intergenerational asset transfer. This resource is available int he Member Library for members of Rural Business Collective. If you arent a member you can email [email protected] for a copy.