It is important that you understand current industrial relations legislation, how it affects your business and whether you are covered by state or federal law. 

Do you understand the changes proposed under Forward with Fairness?  Do you have questions about legislated employee entitlements such as parental leave, long service leave, award entitlements?

The Office of Industrial Relations is running a series of workshops and the first is on Industrial Relations in NSW. This workshop will be regularly updated throughout the year as additional Forward with Fairness information becomes available.

This workshop will help you:

• Understand the employment laws that apply to you
• Understand the changes under federal industrial relations law
• Provide you with details of obligations in relation to employment records, payslips and award entitlements
• Understand various leave entitlements
• Know where to go for further information and assistance.

The workshops will be run in:

Wollongong :
Time:  9am to 12noon    
Venue:  Wollongong Golf Club
Date:   Wednesday 18 February 2009 

Mittagong:
Time:   9am to 12noon    
Venue:       Wollongong Golf Club
Date:   Thursday 19 February 2009 

Helensburgh:
Time:   9am to 12noon    
Venue:       Wollongong Golf Club
Date:   Thursday 26 February 2009 

Kiama:
Time:   9am to 12noon    
Venue:       Wollongong Golf Club
Date:   Thursday 19 March 2009 

Cost:   FREE – but registration compulsory

RSVP: Register on line at www.industrialrelations.nsw.gov.au – places are limited 

The Office of Industrial Relations will be running a series of workshops throughout  the year including :

• Workplace Arrangements
• Employing Staff
• Recruitment and Retention
• Workplace Policies
• Managing Employees

If you would like further information regarding any of the above workshops or the services offered through the Office of Industrial Relations please call 9020 4612 or check out their website www.industrialrelations.nsw.gov.au

Marketing Workshop    

It is not enough to just have a fantastic product or service; you also need to be able to understand how to market your product or service to potential customers and clients. 

This two-and-a-half hour workshop will help you understand the different aspects of marketing, help you understand how your product / service fits into the whole market and how you can market your business more effectively.  We will discuss:

• Conducting Market Research
• Who is your Target Market / Competitors
• The Four Ps of Marketing
• SWOT Analysis
• Requirements of Developing a Marketing Plan

Time:   9.30am to 12noon  
Date:   Thursday 5 February 2009 
Cost:   $40.00 – light Refreshments included

Intro to Business Planning

A good business plan will increase your chances of business success. It will help you identify your customers, market area, pricing strategies, financial and operational goals. By completing a business plan you will better understand your competitive advantages, new opportunities, current weaknesses and longer-term objectives for the business. Having a business plan is also an important requirement for gaining finance from financial institutions.

The aim of this workshop is to provide an overview of the business planning process and increase the skills of participants to enable them to complete a business plan for their business.  Business Plan templates will be provided. 

Time:  12 noon to 1.30pm 
Date:  Monday 16 February 2009
Cost:  $33.00 – light lunch included  

Are you charging the right price to make a profit in your business?   

Price is one of the things that can cause the most grief in business. Is my price too high, too low, should I offer discounts?

In this workshop you will :

• Identify what profit is
• Know the elements of a Cost Structure
• Understand pricing
• Learn how to determine the break even point
• Examine how profit differs from Cash Flow
• Apply the concepts to a case study

Time:  9.30am noon to 12 noon
Date:  Thursday 26 February 2009   
Cost:  $40.00 – light refreshments included

Illawarra Women in Business Awards

Applications are now open for the Illawarra Women in Business Businesswomen’s Awards and are designed to put the stars of the female Illawarra business community in the spotlight

Illawarra Women in Business (IWIB) a local networking group, is proud of the achievements of women in the local business community, and wants to recognise successful women in business through their IWIB award for the IWIB Illawarra Business Woman of the Year and the IWIB Illawarra Young Business Woman of the Year.

The IWIB Illawarra Business Woman of the Year for 2009 (proudly sponsored by the Illawarra Business chamber) and The IWIB Illawarra Young Business Woman of the Year for 2009 (proudly sponsored by the Illawarra ITeC) will be held on Friday, 27 March 2009 at the Lagoon Seafood Restaurant North Wollongong.

The awards are open to ALL business women who are operating or work as an employee in a business located in the Illawarra who best demonstrates ambition, energy, skill and vision, as well as tangible business success.  

The awards are open to women who are enjoying success in building their own business and to those employees who have had an outstanding impact in contributing to the successes of a larger organisation.

The APPLICATION FORM (available at www.iwib.com.au) needs to be completed as per the instructions and returned to IWIB before close of business on Monday 2 March 2009.

Now is the time to reflect on your business achievements and to seriously think about entering the IWIB Awards.

Free Business Advisory Services  

The Illawarra ITeC has five Small Business Programs to help you get started and further develop your established business. All programs provide free and confidential business advice and are available free of charge in the Illawarra, Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven areas: 

• Illawarra Business Advisory Service (IBAS)
• Business Enterprise Centre (BEC)
• New Enterprise Development Scheme  (NEIS)
• Illawarra Innovation Advisory Service (IIAS)
• Aboriginal Enterprise Development Officer (ADEO) Program

Do you receive our weekly Illawarra ITeC Small Business News Newsletter?   If not, email Virginia today on ibec@illawarraitec.com.au and we will automatically send you a copy.  

This is only a brief outline of the types of small business advice and assistance that we can offer. Want to know more? Remember I am a FREE service and can assist you in developing your business in many ways. 

Call me today on 4223 3100 or check out our website at www.illawarraitec.com.au