Business Essentials Seminars (SmallBiz-Week)
Event Information
About this event
Attend, daily informative fireside chats style panel discussions addressing critical small business topics!
This ticket gives you FREE entry to the following SmallBiz-Week events:
Event Info:
The Business Essentials Seminar Series is adjacent to the Small Business Expo and features free to attend, daily informative seminars addressing critical small business topics. The panel discussions are aimed at scaling small businesses, fostering sustainable growth strategies and building resilience.
Business Essentials keynote seminars are presented:
- CEOs & Founders
- Directors
- Industry Experts
- Business Leaders
- Thought-Leaders
BUSINESS ESSENTIALS PROGRAM:
Day One Program: May 18, 2022
10:30 - 11:00 - SmallBiz Competing with Big Business for talent
SPEAKERS:
- James Windon, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Flare
Historically, SMEs and their employees have been excluded from the financial and personal benefits available to the big end of town – despite employing over a third of the private sector workforce in Australia. In this session, the Co-Founder of Australia’s largest pay and benefits platform, will discuss their work democratising access to the most important tools for employee attraction and retention, and explore how small businesses can compete for talent with the most well-resourced businesses in the country.
- Financial stress is on the rise as employees come to expect more from their employers following COVID-19 lockdowns.
- With the ‘Great Resignation’ upon us, employers can no longer only offer a paycheck or an intranet and expect to retain their staff.
- Historically it’s been difficult for small businesses to give their employees access to key financial and personal benefits – the main providers and consultancies target high-income roles in high-turnover corporations.
11:15 - 12:00 - SmallBiz Future-Proof your SME
SPEAKERS:
- Jenny Choo, Vice President SMB, APAC, Zendesk
- Judy Celmins, Director, Engagement & Marketing, ThrivableBiz
- Drey Liautaud, Regional VP of Sale, Okta
When 73% of SMEs are looking for solutions to combat late payments along with avoiding becoming 1 in 5 SME’s who are currently targeted with fraudulent invoices, implementing e-invoicing along with automating their accounts payable and receivables process, is a no brainer.
- consulting with and providing awareness to Australian businesses on the benefits of e-invoicing
- helping Australian businesses get paid and pay on time
- creating awareness on the financial impact invoice fraud, email compromise has had on Australian businesses
- educating businesses why it’s important to have digital health and trust for their business and their clients
- learning from Accountants what their clients have been experiencing in their businesses with e-invoicing adoption and other business challenges post pandemic
12:15 - 1:00 - SmallBiz Customer Experience and Loyalty
SPEAKERS:
- Dr Jana Schmidt, Technical Advisor, Assurance & Emerging Technologies, CPA
- Paul Ambrosini Account Director, Indirect Tax, Deloitte
- Ray Wang Co-Founder and CEO, LUCA Plus
- Mark Stockwell Acting Assistant Commissioner, ATO
Take advantage of growing consumer interest in excellent service while meeting the market’s post-pandemic higher customer service expectations. Identity is a crucial tool for SMB companies as they seek to outpace industry challenges and deliver amazing, trusted customer experiences for customers and employees.
- Capitalise on 50%+ Consumers are seeking out Australian brands
- Building customer loyalty; authentic branding
- 61% Consumers expect SME response time on par with large companies
- Automated customer service technology and tools
- Customer centric business models
- Learn how to enhance customer satisfaction to drive revenue
- Learn how to accelerate time-to-market and improve security for customer-facing experiences.
1:15 - 2:00 - SmallBiz Social Media
SPEAKERS:
- Vela Stambolziev, Director, Engaing Social Media
- Despina Karatzias, Chief Navigator (GM), Navii
How small businesses can utilize social media? Interacting with consumers on social media is an important marketing strategy for small businesses. Using social media helps you build brand awareness, increase your customer base, and connect with current customers.
- How to grow your SME with social media marketing
- Almost 8 in 10 Australians are on social media
- Over 10 million Australians are active on Facebook and Instagram
- Yet – 24% of small business in Australia are not on social media
- Embrace the post-covid digital revolution: changing social media attitudes and habits
- Best social media growth strategies and action plans
- Authentically communicate with customers to reach new markets
2:15 - 3:00 - SmallBiz Funding and Flexible Finance
SPEAKERS:
- Sarah Lalor, GM Commercial Lending Product and BFA, CBA
- Ruchi Gupta, Founder & Principal Consultant, The Launch Pad Co.
- Shaun Fox, Founder, FOXI Capital
- Daine Tate, CEO, Australian Finance Industry Association
Every year, one in six SMEs seeks finance to fund and grow their business - be inspired by the diverse range of funding options in 2022.
- 1/5 SMEs still unsure if they qualify for government support
- Accessing government grants
- Small business loans
- Short-term & long-term financing
- Traditional vs. non-traditional financing
- Neo-banking and digital banking
3:00 - 3:30 - SmallBiz Resolving Disputes…Without Going to Court
SPEAKER
- Lynda McAlary-Smith, Victorian Small Business Commissioner
As small businesses work on recovery and navigating COVID normal, resolving disputes quickly and getting back to business has never been more important. Victorian Small Business Commissioner Lynda McAlary-Smith will walk through good practices that small business people can adopt to avoid and resolve disputes and ways the Victorian Small Business Commission (VSBC) can help.
- Small business strategies for avoiding disputes and the unnecessary impacts they have on your day to day operations
- Tips to help you manage conflict and de-escalate those difficult situations
- How you can resolve a dispute yourself and maintain positive business relationships
- Ways the VSBC can help resolve disputes without the need for court, including through impartial, low-cost mediation
- How to speak up – and be heard – if you’re experiencing issues with a government department or council.
3:35 - 3:55 - Female Entrepreneurship
SPEAKER:
- Leela Cosgrove, CEO & Founder, Iron Cage
Women leaders everywhere are saying the same thing: "We don’t want everything to go back to the way it was before!". But, how do we take the lessons and revelations of the last two years and use them to create better and more equitable working environments?
- Leela Cosgrove, Founder and CEO of Strategic Anarchy and Australian Chapter Leader of the Dell Women's Entrepreneur Network, discusses the current reality women entrepreneurs find themselves in
- & how we can incorporate the best of what we've discovered through the pandemic into our working lives (with bonus Alice in Wonderland metaphors!)
Day Two Program: May 19, 2022
10:30 - 11:00 - How the Victorian Chamber can help to turbocharge your business
SPEAKER
- Paul Guerra, CEO, Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
As Victoria’s peak business body, the Chamber represents the collective voice of 50,000 members and clients. Every size, every sector and right across the State. Our strength is certainly in our numbers. What you may not realise is that the Victorian Chamber is also a business in our own right, employing more than 200 staff; a passionate team who work hard every day to help business. We are the largest providers of apprentices and trainees in the State and a Registered Training Organisation. We have a first-class workplace relations support service and we are the largest provider of certificates of origin – which businesses need to export - in the country. We understand the challenges involved in running a business and managing people. We are a not-for-profit but our mindset is one of operating like a business. We get business.
- Challenges that businesses faced throughout COVID-19
- How the Victorian Chamber helped
- The Victoria Summit process and the resulting Playbook: how it brought stakeholders together and is impacting policy and decisions for the benefit of business and all Victorians
- New membership offerings for the changing face of business in Victoria
- Don’t waste a crisis: what matters going forward
11:15 - 12:00 - SmallBiz The Future of Retail
SPEAKER
- Kellie Clenton, Senior Director, SMB APAC, Afterpay
The retail sector is undergoing monumental change, highlighting the emergence of entirely new trends and accelerating the progress of pre-existing ones. Join Afterpay's Kellie Clenton as she discusses the future of the retail industry over the next 3 and 7-10 years.
- Insights into long-term consumer trends
- The growing role of technology
- Changing cultural trends and their impact on the retail market
12:15 - 1:00 - SmallBiz Digitalisation
SPEAKERS
- Soraya Alali, GM Digital Business Institutional, CBA
- Despina Karatzias Chief Navigator (GM), Navii Digital
- Michael Minassian, APAC Head of Consumer and SME Business, Instarem (NIUM)
- Andrew Page, Lead Developer, Y365
- Miriam van Heusden, CEO at Maralytics
Understand widespread digital disruption and adapt your SME to expand services and future proof your small business.
- New tools, technology and services to automate your SME
- Building digital capability and supporting SME operations
- Embracing digital transformation
- Digital SME trends and solutions
- Online business strategies
- Digital payments
1:15 - 2:00 SmallBiz Digital Marketing
SPEAKERS
- Sonia Zeiback, Founder & Ceo, Pappyon
- Lawrence Hitches, GM, StudioHawk
- Vivienne Ryan, Co-Founder & Director, Gravia Media
- Leela Cosgrove, CEO & Founder, Iron Cage
Discover the latest digital marketing tools, techniques and solutions to support your small business.
- Aligning marketing goals with the right social media platform
- Digital marketing budgets and benchmarks
- Target markets
- Social media, Google AdWords and SEO
- Influencer marketing
- Digital marketing automation
