Stories

Managing conflicts within your business

Disagreements, miscommunications and misunderstandings are never absent in any organisation, even in business teams. There will always be varying opinions and work styles because each individual is different and you cannot always control how they respond to certain situations. But when all these arise into a conflict, how do you handle them so that the entire team is not affected and work will not be jeopardised?

The importance of innovation in business

Competition is getting fiercer, technology is advancing faster, and market preferences are leaning towards newer products and services. For enterprises to have a continuous upward curve in their performance and remain relevant to the changing times, they need to look for ways to constantly innovate themselves and consistently improve their business.

Best practices on building good teamwork while working remotely

In this era of working remotely, getting your team to stay constantly connected and build a stronger relationship and dynamics is important to keep everyone going and motivated. The big question, however, is how? What are the things you need to do to enable you and your team to work together to achieve your business goals despite the challenges and limitations of distance and time?

Taking mentorship to a different level the second time around

Mentorship is a significant factor in one’s entrepreneurial development. Having a guide along the challenging path of the entrepreneurial journey helps accelerate one’s growth, progress and momentum. The good thing about mentorship is that it can be done over a specific period or can be repeated at certain points of the journey or can be done continuously, depending on one’s need.

Corporate values and nurturing them in your business

Corporate values are important in every organisation because they provide a strong foundation for decision-making, team building, customer relations and driving your business forward. It is your company’s compass that directs you which way to go and the backbone on how to run your business successfully.

How to have continuous learning along the entrepreneurial journey

Knowledge is not static. It constantly expands. Each day always brings something new to the table, which is why growth and learning are essential parts of human nature. Continuous development builds up a person, and many leaders and entrepreneurs get to where they are right now because of their thirst for learning.

Becoming a polished gem through mentorship

Although he already has over a decade of experience running their family business, Edric Taing, CEO of SH Jewellery, still finds ways to polish himself further so that he can be a sparkling gem in the entrepreneurial space. He thought that having a mentor would help him become a finely cut entrepreneur, someone whom he could bounce ideas off, just like how a gem would bounce light to produce a beautiful masterwork.

Becoming part of EO Melbourne’s Mentorship Program, Edric found that “The biggest value for me is really being able to have a solid person to share my thoughts and ideas and current progress and also being able to talk without judgment about the challenges that are rising.”

Retrospection along the entrepreneurial journey

“Experience is the best teacher, and the worst experiences teach the best lessons.”

- Jordan Peterson

In a challenging world of entrepreneurship, you can learn a thing or two from experience, may it be from your own experience or from the experience of others. When you retrace the steps you’ve taken and look into your past actions, you can see what you could have done earlier, what you shouldn’t have done at all and what you should have done better. Even in driving, you have to glance at your rearview mirror once in a while to ensure you move forward safely. It helps to look back to the journey taken or observe what others have done and bring the lessons learned to help you go forward in achieving your goals.

Making your office space conducive for work

The physical space where you conduct your business or day-to-day tasks plays a major role in your productivity at work. How do you make it conducive to your job and your team?

Nowadays, most people work from home. Whether you work in the comforts of your residence or you work with your colleagues in your company’s office space or you share working space with others, it is important that you take into consideration the overall environment of your work area and how it contributes to your efficiency. We’ve put together some pointers that you might want to consider to make your space more conducive for work.

Dealing with burnout and work fatigue

When your days are filled with tonnes of emails to check, meetings to attend, fires to put out, and many responsibilities to take care of, it won’t be surprising to find yourself feeling weak, tired, anxious, irritable, exhausted, drained, depressed, forgetful and the list goes on. How do you manage burnout and work fatigue so that you can sustain yourself for the long haul?

Mentorship as a game-changer in the entrepreneurial journey

For most business owners, the entrepreneurial journey is full of challenges, but the experience is very rewarding. There are moments when they hit an obstacle or arrive at some crossroads along the way. Having someone to guide them can be a huge help in leading them where they want to go. And that’s what mentorship does.

“It's been the biggest game-changer for me,” said EO Member and Davidson Technology Consulting Director Gary Lorden regarding the EO Mentorship Program. He continued, “It has provided me with a lot of value around growth. It has added an even further challenge on how I approach things and look at things in terms of connecting the key rocks in my life.”

Discussing business and work with your life partner – how much do you reveal?

When it comes to your business, how much do you share about it with your life partner?

The life of an entrepreneur is a challenging one. The demands and responsibilities at work may often be overwhelming that you will sometimes feel the need to be supported at home by your spouse or life partner when it comes to your business endeavours.

Filling a gap: what is the purpose of your business?

A sense of purpose is what every individual and business chart their path as to where they want to go. Without it, it’s like losing one’s direction in the journey. Businesses thrive because they provide a solution to a problem or responds to a certain demand in society. Many enterprises were established because the founder has experienced or witnessed a particular need that has to be filled in.

Building your team through a strong corporate culture

Having a strong and desirable corporate culture helps attract and retain good talents who perhaps share the same values with you and the people in your organisation. Every company has its own culture, and although not all corporate cultures are perfect, there’s something about it that draws the right individuals to your business.

The importance of succession planning

Recent global events have taken many of us by surprise, reminding us that planning and preparation for the inevitable must be taken into serious consideration. It goes not only for our individual lives but also, and most especially, in business. One of the things that business owners and HR managers must have is a viable succession plan and strategy in place for the longevity and sustainability of the business.

Paying it forward in the entrepreneurial journey

In the challenging entrepreneurial path, where sometimes the roads are unpaved, being on the receiving end of an act of kindness is a huge help. It can often go a long way, especially for those who are just starting on their journey. Even seasoned entrepreneurs have been recipients of a good deed at some point in their lives, and so they are paying this forward to others as well.

Realising true entrepreneurial freedom

by Jamie Lingham

As an entrepreneur, I want the benefits of not only being my own boss but also having the ability to do what I want, with who I want, where I want and when I want. After 20 years of running my immigration business, dealing with staffing issues, long nights, long weekends and time away from my family, COVID was the one to push me to take on the ultimate travel, work, and family adventure around Australia.

How do you communicate bad news to your clients?

In every business, there are times when things take a different turn and projects can often head south, may it be due to human error, unforeseen circumstances, or uncontrollable situations. When things go awry, how do you break the bad news to your clients?

There are different approaches to it, depending on your client’s characteristics and your relationship with them. A few entrepreneurs share with us their experience and how they tackle the problem when the situation calls for it.

Essential items in an entrepreneur’s business scorecard

What is a scorecard? It’s a tool or report that monitors the status or success of a project. In business, a scorecard allows teams to set their goals and rate their performance vis-à-vis what they have set for themselves. Every organisation may have different scorecards, depending on their targets, focus and key performance indicators.

For entrepreneurs, what are the most essential items in their business scorecard? EO Melbourne members share with us the important things they put in their scorecards.

Local (Melbourne) leadership quotes for your entrepreneurial journey

Food for thoughts. They are often needed to keep us going, especially in the entrepreneurial journey. And so, we gathered some leadership quotes – either new nuggets of wisdom or familiar motivational pieces you have encountered before – which will help you move forward when things become rough.