I was talking with David Hearle recently and we decided it was long overdue to have a KEEN group casual ‘get-together’.

Therefore, come and join us next week:

Where: Madissons restaurant and bar, Gympie Tce Noosaville

When: Friday 16th of July at 5pm

Why?: Meet up with friends (both new and old) in a casual atmosphere – also connect regarding business conditions and opportunities with like-minded folks.

RSVP:  No need to rsvp, just come along.
Look forward to seeing you then!

Other news….

Robyn White from DEEDI is seeking appropriate contacts to invite to an investment attraction luncheon on July 27th.  If you are a property developer or someone interested in investment attraction on the Sunshine Coast – please contact Robyn White for further details on robyn.white@deedi.qld.gov.au

Cheers,
Anne

But hey, let’s not worry about 2009, let’s look forward - which is the topic for our March meeting

Where: Noosa Boardroom, Noosa Civic

Topic: Roundtable discussion on emerging directions for 2010 in our businesses, (including business generally, the region, the state, the nation, even the planet!)

Date: Tuesday the 9th March

Time: 6.00pm for a 6.30pm start

RSVP: RSVP is essential to anne@noosaboardroom.com.au

Cost: $10 towards wine/beer and nibbles

We look forward to seeing you there for some networking and interesting conversations.

Cheers,

Anne, Karen, Ellen and John.

For those of you looking for networking opportunities and/or business events, a quick round up from my emails over the past weeks has resulted in the following:

·         Thursday 4th February.  Combined Chamber Alliance celebration function for members of the participating chambers of commerce.  5pm at Nambour Civic Centre.  Business Networking, catered, private screening of Michael Moore’s ‘Capitalism, A Love Story’. Further information and RSVP here.

·         Tuesday 9th February.  Sunshine Coast Business Women’s Network Breakfast.  6.30am for 7am start at Maroochydore Surf  Club. Guest Speaker Sue Scheinpflug, local Noosa identity and Telstra Qld 2009 Business Woman of the Year winner.  Further information here.

·         Monday 15th February. Sunshine Coast Creative Alliance - Creative Showcase Launch.  5.30pm start at Eumundi Markets.  RSVP’s required for catering purposes.  Further information here.

·         Wednesday 17th February.  Australian Institute of Company Directors “Directors on Location Tour” at Sunshine Coast Airport with Peter Pallot.  Numbers limited.  5.15pm at Sunshine Coast Airport.  Further information here.

·         Wednesday 24th February.  Australian Institute of Management ‘A fire-side chat’ with David Bussau.  12.15pm for a 12.30 start at Sunshine Coast Function Centre Caloundra. Click here to download the event flyer or visit www.aimqld.com.au for more information.

I’ll be attending three of these, so hope to see you there!

Given all these meetings in February we will delay our own 2010 kick off meeting until March.  Further details soon.

Cheers,
Anne

However, is a regional innovation system the same as trying to develop a knowledge economy?

Read more about this topic in SGS Economics interesting article here.

Further information from Council Below….

“As you may be aware, yesterday Council endorsed its draft Economic Development Strategy for consultation with business and the community.

The importance of the economy to the Sunshine Coast community was reflected in the process of developing Council’s Corporate Plan, where the achievement of a robust economy was identified as being the highest priority for the region. Council has developed a draft strategy to address Council’s role in economic development for the region.

The goal for Council in terms of economic development is to have a mature, diversified economy based on our unrivalled quality of life, our natural environment and our commitment to sustainability. We aim to build our economy so that it is more resilient to the peaks and troughs of the economic cycle and for our businesses, our infrastructure and our technology to have a reputation for sustainability and success, both nationally and internationally.

Visit our website to download the draft Economic Development Strategy, Action Plan and Factsheet.

Between 19 November 2009 and 31 January 2010 Council is inviting feedback on the strategy. I realise you are extremely busy at this time, however, this is your opportunity to contribute to this document and Council’s involvement in economic development within the region.

There are a number of ways you can contribute to the draft strategy:

1. Fill in the online feedback form

2. Email your comments to economicdevelopment@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au

3. Arrange to meet and have a discussion with us

Phone: (07) 5475 8501

Fax: (07) 5441 8338

Submissions close 31 January 2010.

Council will consider all feedback received and use it to inform the final Economic Development Strategy.”

Wow! What a meeting!  It was great to see many of you again and hear your passionate remarks regarding how we can help the knowledge workers and entrepreneurs of the Sunshine Coast.

I have a long set of notes, however I don’t think many of you will be interested in all that detail  (and if you are – please contact me for a copy).  So briefly…

We conducted a round-table discussion and focused on the Global Financial Crisis and business confidence – and what that really meant for us.  Many of those in attendance professed loudly and strongly that business was booming – because as knowledge workers we fit a niche market and provide specialist skills and activities not available elsewhere.

So because we are irreplaceable, and business is booming we thought how best can we help each other out?

Craig Humphrey from the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation then gave us the focus for our discussion.

Governments WANT our help.  They currently listen to traditional industry sectors that cluster around like products (i.e. Manufacturing, Tourism, Aviation etc), but they want to learn about other sectors and different parts of the economy.

Our group represents a unique voice and Government is prepared to listen!

Lots of ideas were discussed and many were passionate on connecting further down the coast and learning from each other – as well as working together to fill gaps such as the need for specialist skills.

What are your ideas?  And how do you think we can build on this momentum?

“…What form should entrepreneurship take in today’s increasingly complex, fast-paced and highly interconnected knowledge world?

“Entrepreneurs are traditionally assumed to posses certain distinguishing personal attributes. In his speech at the Annual MAP International CEO Conference held in Makati on Oct. 7, 2008, Fred Uytengsu, president and CEO of Alaska Milk, and Filipino Entrepreneur of the Year in 2006, listed five characteristics of entrepreneurial individuals: Vision, innovativeness, perseverance, passion, and focus. Another frequently mentioned common characteristic of entrepreneurs is their willingness to take reasonable risks. In his introduction to “Extraordinary Stories for Aspiring Leaders,” a volume published by the Management Association of the Philippines in 2007, Vic Magdaraog adds yet two other traits that set entrepreneurial individuals apart from others: Unwavering integrity and big egos. ”

“….while these are truly admirable traits, seldom, if at all, are they found in a single individual. To combine the required complementary traits together into a single production unit, it is necessary to bring several individuals together. This leads us to another question: Is entrepreneurship an individual initiative or a group effort?”

“The key point that I want to stress is that in today’s knowledge-driven world, individual entrepreneurial skills have ceased to be the important determinants of business success that they used to be under more placid circumstances. In today’s world, organizational characteristics have assumed far greater importance. In the knowledge economy, value is the outcome of the collaborative effort of networked individuals. Rarely is it the result of the initiative of a single person.”

Read on

Former Editor and MD of Harvard Business Review and Chief Marketing & Knowledge Officer, Booz & Company, Thomas Stewart offered answer for these waxing questions whilst addressing a seminar titled ‘The Leader’s Agenda’ in Mumbai on November 13, 2008.

Part of Tom’s address was focused on ‘The Wealth of Knowledge’ which outlined Strategy and Management in the Knowledge Economy. 

The pillars of the knowledge economy according to Tom are:

1.       Knowledge is what we buy and sell

2.       Knowledge assets separate winners from losers

3.       Knowledge defines our work and describes what we do

4.       The returns to knowledge should exceed the returns to any other investment.  

For more on his address, continue to read on here

On the 10^th of September, members of KEEN (knowledge exporters and entrepreneurs of Noosa) gathered at the Noosa Regional Gallery to understand why selling knowledge is different from selling widgets.  A/Professor Karen Woolley (CEO, Proscribe Medical Communications) provided practical and proven tips on how Noosa-based, knowledge economy businesses can achieve international sales success.   Some of the marketing and sales tips that Karen shared were:

1. Establish a research budget to solve problems that are important to your customers. Knowledge rules in the knowledge economy! Creating useful knowledge can make you stand out from your competition and can motivate your knowledge-hungry staff. ProScribe’s medical writers identify relevant problems and gain great professional satisfaction by conducting the research required to solve these problems.

2. Gain international recognition from your research. Present your results at prestigious conferences and publish your research in highly regarded journals - make your customers aware that you have the expertise that they need…and value. ProScribe’s medical writers are regularly invited to present nationally and internationally and have published in the world’s highest ranked medical journals.

3. An international reputation will help you build trust and…sales. If people of influence (conference organisers, journal editors) give you a ‘stamp of approval’ by recognising your knowledge, then it is easier for potential clients to trust that you do indeed have the knowledge they need. You don’t need to, and should not try to, ‘hard sell’ to educated clients. You simply have to make the clients aware of the fact that, even if you are located 10,000 kilometres away, you have the knowledge they need. Thanks to the internet, you can send your knowledge to them in seconds - for the right price.

Karen completed her presentation by encouraging knowledge economy businesses in Noosa to give back to the Noosa community.  ProScribe sponsors the ‘Tomorrow’s Entrepreneurs’ Award that allows Noosa’s budding student entrepreneurs to take a chauffeur-driven limousine down to Brisbane to attend the inspirational Telstra Business Women’s Awards.

The Sunshine Coast Regional Council wants to nurture knowledge economy businesses and KEEN is supporting the owners of these businesses by providing a forum to share and build knowledge.

Noosa based KEEN group presents such a wealth of business knowledge and support for business owners on how to build your business inside and outside of the Sunshine Coast demographic.  Here are some thoughts ongoing from our September meeting.

Everyone always wants to improve their business building, knowledge, support network and success but the big question is where do you start and what do you do that is both practical and effective.

Motivation definitely plays a part however flexible thinking is the key that can take you to new and exciting places. Firstly, you must have the motivation to want to improve and learn. Once you have made that decision then it’s all about utilising the resources of your mind to think about what you want, how to change habits and behaviours and the courage to act on your potential that makes all the difference to attain the results you want in your business. It’s interesting that products don’t sell products. It’s very rarely the product or service holding back someone’s business being profitable & successful. It is always the driver of the product or service? Which is you!

There is no magic answer because you have the answer. We generally know what we should be doing or where the resources required are but cannot work out why we don’t take the necessary steps required to stretch outside of our own limitations to build awareness and promote our businesses on a grand scale. The reason we get stuck and disappointed is usually because of the expectations we and others place on us. People usually don’t take actions for two reason and two reasons alone. They hold a underlying negative self image and a fear of failure. Everyone does go through these emotional factors to various degrees and when we have the courage to act through these fears we set up new success pathways in our mind and you don’t go backwards. Think about it…even riding a bike was scary the first time (but also exciting).

Have the courage to take on a new experience to the best of your ability without being attached to the outcome and what other people think. If you get this right you will then be able to learn through the experience, take the good on board and alter or refine what didn’t work and then go onto the next experience. Ask yourself is what I’m doing now taking me towards my goals I have set. If it is, great! If it not, you may just be procrastinating and wasting time.

So often in the school system and in society we are taught what to think instead of how to think and then we utilise these thought patterns that other people have created for us for the rest of our lives.

But we need to ask ourselves 7 important questions?

What do I really want achieve in my business? (PLAN - Start at the end. Know what you want to achieve and work backwards)

What is my niche?

What knowledge, people or resources do I need to acquire?

What is the most cost effective way I can build awareness of my product or service?

Do I exceed the expectations of my value clients? (remember quality always ensures quantity long term)

What is the next step/experience required? (No Excuses)

Review the actions to define what worked well and what can I improve for next time?

You have choice as to what you are prepared to do differently to ensure your business is successful? People will generally blame others or circumstances for poor results in their business. The facts are we are all accountable for the life we lead. If we think everyone else is the cause of our problems (Family, friends, bosses, banks, the market and society) it is a little absurd to think that everyone else needs to go to the psychiatrist to solve our problems. Regardless of your current circumstances, take responsibility and create and be committed to the life you wish to lead and enjoy your courage. You can do it? Anyone can!