Issue 5 - Chasing The Dream! Magazine by Chris Beks

MAGAZINE
ISSUE 5
Celebrating The
B1G1 Global Awards
2020 - 2021
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CONTENTS
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WHAT’S INSIDE
4
Welcome Message
From Chris Beks
6
Celebrating
The B1G1 Global
Awards 2020-2021
18
Education: Creating
Synergy Outside Your
Business
8
Winner - Marketing
Program of the Year
21
Education: Do You
Have Synergy In Your
Website?
9
The
Tech Time
22
Chasers Hub
10
Chasers
Education: The Power
of Synergy
26
Chuckles
14
Education: Using
28
Synergy Inside Your
Ceebeks
Business
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WELCOME MESSAGE
From Chris Beks
W
elcome to the first edition of the New Financial Year, which is actually the 5th
edition of our quarterly publication that was first released in 2020.
Our Chasing the Dream! Magazine was released as a celebration of our 30th Anniversary of
chasing our dreams and helping business owners achieve theirs in which we promote ideas,
share what we’re up to, and highlight and focus on successful ‘Chasers’ who have been part of our
journey together.
Our magazine is now a National Award winner too, collecting ‘The Marketing Program of the
Year’ award at the 2021 Australian Accounting Awards in Sydney on the 18th June 2021. It was
recognised for its innovative use of technology as the first digital magazine in the South West to be
viewed on any mobile device in the same way other content is viewed by scrolling or swiping.
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This was a huge accomplishment for our small team
(‘the fab five’) and a great reward for the selfless work
they have undertaken to provide the best service
to our customers during the height of the COVID
pandemic. It was also a great acknowledgement to our
Coaching Program affiliate, Ali Fowler and her Team
at Something Good Magazine, for their awesome
collaborative spirit and work on helping us to develop
the magazine!
In this edition, we’ll be talking about the power
of synergy - the combined power of a group of
things when they are working together rather
than individually. We’ll examine how to use
synergy inside and outside of your business
and get you to review your website to see if you
have synergy there, too.
Our new business space, christened ‘The Chasers
Hub’ at the Fletcher Jones Business Centre is now
open and will allow us to run our workshops for the
Chasers Getting Results Program, our future Chasers
Mastermind and re-invent/renew the Chasers Meet
Up - our social get together where we network with
each, hear from a guest speaker and share ideas &
experiences about our businesses whilst raising funds
for Warrnambool & District Food Share and B1G1 If you
need to run a training meeting, hire a ‘hot desk’ or host
a virtual presentation then contact Shannae Hewett
and she will discuss your requirements and arrange
your booking.
In this issue we also celebrate the magnificent
achievement of the B1G1 - Business for Good
movement which has just reached the incredible
milestone of a quarter of a billion (250 million) global
impacts on the lives of those less fortunate in our
world. We are so proud to be a lifetime member of this
amazing organisation that is focused on creating a
better world by using the power of small gifts related to
the everyday transactions of business owners like you
to make a difference. Every project is directly related
to each of the 17 UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
that they are aiming to achieve by 2030. The Ceebeks
Team was also acknowledged as the Runner Up in the
Global Impacts made during 2020.
Since our last edition of the magazine, our Team
have managed to enjoy a well-earned couple of
days over at Port Fairy for our annual EOFY Team
Retreat, celebrating what we did well, reviewing
what could be improved, relaxing, learning and
planning to be even better in 2022!
I have been kept busy with lots of education
and learning. I attended my monthly Coaching
Mastermind, attended a 4-day On-line
Conference, to keep up-to-date with new
business tech, get some inspiration and
motivation that I will share with you all in the near
future, heard from amazing global experts and to
catch up with my tribe who hold me accountable
for pushing our business forward.
If you want to really set up 2022 as your most
successful year yet, then having well-crafted
plans - business & marketing - are now more
critical than ever, given how COVID has forever
changed the way we will do business in the
future. To find out more, our Business Program
can accelerate achieving your dreams, so click on
the link www.ceebeks.com/cgr/ or contact the
Team today on 03 5561 2643!
The Ceebeks Team and I look forward to helping
you on your financial journey of life and reach the
dreams that you are chasing.
Please enjoy our 5th Edition…
… to chasing our dreams, together!
Book A Free Call
calendly.com/ceebeks-chris/
chasers-getting-results-program
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CELEBRATING
THE B1G1 GLOBAL
AWARDS 2020-2021
Ceebeks Business Solution for GOOD was created with the sole purpose
of making a difference – a real difference in the lives of our Team
members and their families, our local community, our country and in the
lives of those less fortunate around the world.
Our business has been a lifetime member of the Global Giving initiative,
B1G1 – Business for Good since joining in 2015, a truly wonderful
organisation full of like-minded people who believe in the vision and the
simple idea of ‘creating a world full of giving together’ by embedding
effective giving in everyday business activities.
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During that time we have been enthusiastically
motivated and inspired to create real change
by linking projects to the services we provide to
our amazing customers. For example, when we
complete a tax return we provide the gift of clean
drinking water or when we complete a home loan
we provide the gift of shelter etc.
Nonetheless, to be considered amongst some elite
businesses around the world in this category was a
very proud moment for me and the Team.
At the 2021 B1G1 Global Conference in July 2021,
the ‘fantastic five’ were formally acknowledge for
our contribution and we were awarded Runner-up of
the Impact Award.
We sincerely thank each and every one of our loyal
and amazing customers who allow us to serve them
and as a consequence of the rewards we receive for
doing so, are able to make a small difference in the
lives of others.
youtu.be/dmQ4gcZj9zE
So, from the bottom of our hearts – THANK YOU!
You continue to inspire us and allow us to do even
more.
We are on a personal mission to create 10 million
impacts by 2025. The collective efforts of fellow
B1G1 members have driven this movement to
create over 250 million impacts already!
In June 2021 we received a letter from Masami
Sato, CEO of B1G1 based in Singapore, to inform
our Team that we were listed as a finalist in the
2021 Global Impact Award. This was a huge
surprise for us as we weren’t even aware that there
were awards for giving.
youtu.be/Cr0Y8IY82fY
250 MILLION SMILES
A Quarter of A Billion Impacts in the World
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WINNER
This is huge for our small Team of 5 and is proof
for them that ‘from little things big things GROW’!
The 2021 Australian Accounting Awards
recognises excellence across the entire
accounting industry, and showcases the
individuals and firms which are leading the way
in the industry.
This year, a record 621 submissions were
received across 19 individual and 15 group
categories, with 300 shortlisted as finalists, and
34 leaving the event as winners.
Accountants Daily, together with principal partner
Intuit QuickBooks, unveiled the winners at a five-star
gala dinner in Sydney on Friday night.
A huge congratulations to the awesome collaborative
spirit and work of Ali Fowler and her Something Good
Magazine team who helped us pull this all together.
So, so proud of our Team on winning this national
award!
#australianaccountingawards
#ceebeks #smallbusinessadvice
#warrnamboolaccountants
https://lnkd.in/eK8qVUE
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TECH
TIME
To help you keep pace with the tech tools that
can help drive efficiencies in your business, each
quarterly edition of Chasing The Dream - The
Magazine, we will be highlighting 5 that we use.
Airtable - probably the simplest database tool we
have ever used. It lets us easily collaborate and
manage information about anything at all - we
use it for our social media planning. It comes
with a helpful selection of templates, which may
give you more ideas about how you can use it.
For example, there are templates called Social
Media Calendar, Wedding Planning, Nonprofit
Grant Tracker, Employee Onboarding, Bug Tracker,
Product Launch, and many others. Airtable has
four plan types: Free, Pro, Plus, and Enterprise and
offers discounts on these plans for organisations in
nonprofit work and education.
Unscreen - For those of you into making videos but
want a different background or want to remove one
without using complex and fiddly techniques like
chroma keying and the expense of having to get a
green screen, this is your tech tool! Unscreen will
save you time, money, and energy, so you can focus
on other things that challenge your creativity and
ramp up productivity. And the best part - it’s FREE!
Fiverr - Fiverr’s mission is to change how the world
works together. The Fiverr platform connects
businesses of all sizes with skilled freelancers
offering digital services in more than 400
categories, across 8 verticals including graphic
design, digital marketing, programming, video and
animation. We have used it for animation, branding
and design work.
Placeit - is a powerful online mockup, video and
design template generator. Create all of your
branding and marketing digital assets directly from
your browser without downloading complicated
software. Start with your logo, then present it to the
world with a professional and dynamic intro video!
Uppbeat - Looking to include some background
mood music to your videos, then this tool is a must
to have in your tool kit. You get 100% Copyright-Free
Music for your videos & avoid copyright claims.
Uppbeat is made for creators and it’s FREE, too!
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THE POWER
OF SYNERGY
Dr. Stephen R. Covey, in his book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” (Simon & Schuster
Fireside, 1989) defines Habit 6 as: Creating Synergy - several parts working together to
produce results greater than their own independent efforts; where the whole is greater
than the sum of its parts. The challenge is to apply the principles of synergy, or creative
cooperation, to your approach to growing your business.
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CREATING SYNERGY
USING THE FOUR
WAYS TO GROW
YOUR BUSINESS
Over the last few editions of ‘Grow Your Business’ we’ve
looked at the “Four Ways to Grow Your Business.”
1.
2.
3.
4.
Win more customers (of the type you want);
Get your customers to come back again and again;
Get them to spend more each time they do; and
Improve the processes within your business
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HOW CAN IT
HAVE SUCH
A DRAMATIC
IMPACT ON
MY BUSINESS?
Let’s say you have a customer base of 1,000,
and that you can increase the number of
inquiries (and therefore the number of new
customers) by 10%. That would mean your
customer base would increase to 1,100.
Now, imagine if you also increased the
number of times your customers dealt with
you during their lifetime by 10% (say from one
to 1.1 times).
Next, through the techniques and strategies
you’ve been introduced to in the other editions
of our Magazine, you are able to increase your
average sale or “transaction value” by 10% as
well, taking it from $100 to $110.
CRUNCH THE
NUMBERS FOR
YOURSELF
Click on our Potential Growth Calculator and enter the
same numbers above by following these steps.
Step. 1 - Enter 1,000 in ‘No. of Customers’
Enter 1 in ‘No. of Sales A Year’
Enter 100 in Average Sales Value
Step. 2 - Enter 10 in the Percentage Increase under
‘Increase in Customers’
Look at what happens to turnover when just one area -
winning new customers, for example - is increased by
10%.
NOTE - you should have $100,000
in Gross Sales
NOTE - you should have Gross Sales
increase by $10,000 to $110,000.
If you were to put all of these factors together,
and assuming everything else was equal,
it would make sense to say that the overall
business would grow by 10%.
Right?...
Remove the 10 in the Percentage Increase under
‘Increase in Customers’
Now, the same happens when either the number of
times your customers deal with you, or the average
transaction value is increased by 10%.
...Wrong!
Common sense would say that, but in fact
something completely different happens.
Something that could mean the difference
between a profit or a loss for your business.
NOTE - you should have Gross Sales
increase by $10,000 to $110,000 if either
the number of times your customers deal
with you, or the average transaction value is
increased by 10%.
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That’s right, increasing each area at the same
time has a multiplier effect of increasing turnover
NOT by 10% as you might assume, but by a
staggering 33.3%!
So, go ahead and put in your real numbers and
see the impact of synergy on your own numbers -
and the potential net return you could be enjoying
by investing in our coaching program today!
An increase of $33,100 in turnover for doing
nothing else except improving EACH area at once,
rather than concentrating on just one area at a
time.
This multiplier effect is caused by the
combination - the synergy - of all 3 areas working
together.
Each complimenting the others.
The increase should surprise, impress, and
excite you. Especially when you know that this
information, the support you will get from our
Team, andour Magazine are all fundamentally
built around helping you easily develop EACH and
EVERY area - at the same time.
Review which of the 4 ways to grow your
business you’re focused on right now. Is it just
one, two, three, or is it all four?
You will also notice below the Potential Growth
Calculator that we have built in the calculation for
the potential net return for your business after the
cost of our coaching program has been deducted.
Are you using the power of
synergy to achieve maximum
results for your business?
Try the calculation on your own business now.
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USING SYNERGY
INSIDE YOUR
BUSINESS
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Building a
Shared Vision
You may have heard the saying “managing a
business with your eye solely on profit is like
playing tennis with your eye on the scoreboard.”
In reality, the following chain of focus will
ultimately drive profit in your business:
Profitability and Growth
You will be able to infer that one of the most
critical things in making your business grow is
“the vision.” It might seem to be “soft stuff” but
it’s the stuff that leads to success. In fact, in our
studies of those businesses who have been most
successful, one common trait we’ve identified is
that they have addressed the issue of creating a
vision - and sharing that vision with their team and
their customers.
A few well-known examples of highly successful
businesses can illustrate the power of a shared
vision.
Customer Loyalty
Microsoft: “A computer on every desk
and in every home, all running Microsoft
software.”
Customer Delight
Ford Motor Company: “Quality is Job 1.”
Value
Team Productivity
Commitment and Systems
Team Happiness
McDonald’s: “Service, Cleanliness,
Quality, Value.”
Apple: “We believe that we are on the
face of the earth to make great products
and that’s not changing”
Sony Entertainment: “To create a
product that becomes pervasive,
worldwide.”
Federal Express: “Guaranteed Overnight
Delivery.”
Internal Quality
A shared vision presents a clear picture of where
everyone agrees the organisation is going and how
it intends to get there.
Leadership
Vision
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How Do I Start Developing a
Shared Vision in My Business?
In his book, Building a Shared Vision - A Leader’s Guide to Aligning the Organisation (Productivity
Press, 1997), C. Patrick Lewis defines a shared vision as “something that provides the framework
that guides all decision making, planning and action.” He says that an effective start towards building
a clear, focused and shared vision requires careful thought and action, and suggests the following
steps to begin:
1.
2.
Learn all you can about the
organisation and the marketplace
it’s in, its past vision and corporate
culture.
Think about tomorrow and future
business developments, focusing
on potential changes in the market,
stakeholders and products.
4.
5.
6.
Develop target goals for the vision,
including what you need to do to get there.
Focus on success so that every team
member feels they are part of something
special.
Prepare to invest in the necessary
resources to support the vision.
3.
Identify all stakeholders that will
be affected by the vision and enlist
these groups in forming the vision.
7.
Abandon the top-down theory of decision
making.
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As you can see by these steps, it is important that
everyone in the business, from key executives to your
front-line Team Members, must buy into the vision,
providing a significant opportunity for collective
decision making and synergy. This is why we advocate
the involvement of your Team Members, as well as
your clients, at the outset in Advisory Board meetings
to determine what will distinguish your business in
the marketplace. The creation of a successful shared
vision relies heavily on multi-level participation in its
development and implementation. Their contribution
and involvement uses the power of synergy to create
a powerful vision, and increase motivation and
commitment.
What Should a
Vision Statement
Look Like?
After you have performed the steps above, and
you’re ready to write down your shared vision
statement, keep the following criteria in mind.
Your vision statement must be:
Imaginable: Conveys what the
business will look like
Desirable: Appeals to the long-term
interests of key stakeholders
Challenging but feasible: Realistic
and attainable
Measurable: Allows key elements to
be measured
Focused: Can be used to guide
decisions
Flexible: Allows individual
interpretation and initiative, but
always subject to an overall set of
guiding principles
Communicable: Can be explained and
understood by all stakeholders
Strategic: Makes strategic sense, and
possesses internal integrity to avoid
dysfunction
Putting all of these elements together will form
the foundation for distinguishing your business
in the marketplace.
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CREATING
SYNERGY OUTSIDE
YOUR BUSINESS
Establishing “Win-Win” Host Relationships
“Host Relationships” are those between non-competing businesses who deal with the same type
of “ideal” customers. Both parties formally agree to refer customers to each other, to benefit both.
(For example, a winery may develop a relationship with a restaurant to reach mutual customers
through wine and meal offers.) Why go out and spend a lot of money to generate new leads,
when both businesses can leverage their investment by marketing to each other’s well-qualified
customers?
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You may already have some of these
relationships established.
However, they may be less formal than
they should be. Host relationships are
only truly successful when a formalised
relationship is formed, and where cross
referrals occur on a regular basis.
“Piggyback”
Mailings Save
Money and Reach
the Right People
Imagine if you established a host relationship
with another business who is willing to send a
direct mail campaign to their customer base
(your ideal type of customer), fully endorsing
your business. With this one simple strategy
you can save advertising dollars, reach your
target audience, and dramatically increase
your response rate. In turn, you would endorse
their business to your customers.
Interesting isn’t it?
Instead of buying mailing lists, spending a
considerable amount on advertising, and
working hard to generate new leads, a readymade
list of well-qualified potential customers
is available within that non-competing
business. All you have to do is tap into it!
Remember, too, that people are four times
more likely to buy when they are referred by
someone they know. Being referred to you by
a business they trust increases the customer’s
willingness to buy from you, because they now
consider you someone they “know.”
So How Do I Make it Work for
My Business?
To start you on your way to establishing host relationships
for your business, try the following exercise.
1.
2.
3.
Write down a list of as many businesses as you can
think of that are serving your ideal type of customer.
For instance, if your target is business owners,
think of businesses that all businesses deal with
(e.g., stationers, office furniture stores, computer
suppliers). Or if you’re looking for individual
customers, think about businesses people in that
particular demographic are dealing with (e.g., for
18-25 year-olds: gyms, record stores, universities).
Keep going until you come up with at least 10
different types of business.
Now think of any people you know who own, or are
involved with, any of those businesses with whom
you could share referrals.
Contact those people and tell them you have an
idea that could help them grow their business, and
your own, just by working more closely together.
Then set up a meeting and get going!
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DO YOU
HAVE
SYNERGY
IN YOUR
WEBSITE?
Web sites are essentially made up of two key
elements, Design and Content, that must work
together to create a powerful tool for both you
and your site users. Design refers to things like
navigational tools, backgrounds, menus, graphics,
buttons, links, etc., while Content is the actual
information available within your site. Both can
directly impact how long, and how enjoyable, a
user’s visit to your site will be, and whether they’ll
be back anytime soon. And, both work together to
help you get your message across effectively.
Here are a few Design tips you can use to create
more synergy in your site.
1. Keep it simple
Graphics and “bells and whistles” are flashy.
However, these “memory hogs” often make users
wait a long time for pages to load. Seconds can
make all the difference as to whether a user will
stay on your site or click over to another, so keep it
to a minimum.
2. Keep it clean,
uncluttered and logical
The graphical and navigational tools inherent
in your design must help the user find what
they’re looking for easily. In fact, it needs to be
somewhat “intuitive.” What you should do is have
team members or friends test the site to see if it
makes sense to them, and that they can find the
information they want.
3. Keep the “click
throughs” to a minimum
“Click throughs” are the number of times a user has
to click to get to the information they want. If the
information a user needs is buried under 10 clicks
or links, you will probably lose them before they get
there. The best rule of thumb is “if you or your team
members wouldn’t click that many times to get to
the information, your users won’t either.
If you want to build a dynamic website that has
complete synergy and generates leads whilst you
are asleep, then Kody Thompson, (our Coaching
Program affiliate) from LightningSites is the best
person to speak to.
Check out the link here:
www.lightningsites.com/ceebeks
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THE CHASERS HUB
In our pre-COVID days we ran a monthly event - The Chasers Meet Up - which was a social
networking event that provided like-minded business owners chasing their dream with the
opportunity to meet socially, enjoy some nibbles with a glass or two of their favourite beverage or
a ‘cold one’ but still talk business, learn and network with each other.
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The Chasers Meet Up was also a fund raiser for Warrnambool & District Food Share with 100% of
the funds raised going to this amazing local not-for-profit that provide repurposed food hampers
for those less fortunate in our community!
These events were a great opportunity to highlight a ‘Chasers’ business with the Chasers Hot
Seat, hear from an expert guest speaker on a business topic and generally hear from each other
about what they’ve been up to and how they solved certain issues.
The downside of the program was that we could never get stability with the technology, venue or
lock in a permanent time frame.
COVID prevented us from continuing the program but gave us the time and opportunity to review
how we could improve and build a better solution.
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Our discussions with fellow Chaser, Gareth
Colliton from One Day Studios, led to us leasing a
permanent space at the Fletcher Jones Business
Centre and fit it out with the technology and
aesthetics we had envisioned for The Chasers
Meet Up.
However, our vision for The Chasers Hub did not
stop there as we are now able to cater for members
of the business community who require an
inexpensive space to run a training meeting, hire a
‘hot desk’ or host a presentation - both in-person or
virtual.
If you are interested in booking The Chasers Hub,
contact Shannae Hewett on 55612643.
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CHASERS
CHUCKLES
CREDIT: IRINA BLOK
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Office - 25 Banyan Street,
Warrnambool, 3280
Ph: (03) 5561 2643
chris@ceebeks.com
ceebeks.com
ceebeks
ceebeks
@chasingthedream
ceebeks
ceebeks-business-solutions
chrisbeksaccountant
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