News

Our Erina Meeting was treated to a wonderful presentation from one of our Sponsors, Leanne Faulkner from Rereadable.

Leanne is a self-confessed Book Nerd and loves nothing more than sharing her recommendations for books that can help small business owners grow and scale their businesses.  

Check out these amazing books she shared insights on :

The E Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber

Become a Business Money Magnet by Justine McLean

Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller

The 7% Club by Jenny Still

Six Figures While You Sleep by Kate Toon

Buy Grow Exit by Joanna Oakey

If you prefer listening to reading, check out Leanne's Podcast where she explains her unique Book Concierge service (matching your problem with a book that will help) and also some great conversations with her favourite authors.

Happy reading, and thanks again, Leanne!

There are many ways a business may be impacted by financial losses due to cyber attacks or data breaches, and this type of insurance can help protect your business from business interruption, identity theft, system disruption and ransomware attacks.  The costs associated with data restoration, forensic investigations, legal costs and other potential damages can quickly mount up.

A big thank you to Mark Hanslow from Hanslow Insurance Group for presenting at our Tuggerah meeting today.

For more information please email Mark

It is with sadness that we report the passing of one of SBNG's founding members, Greg Lawrence, who passed away over the weekend, just after his 69^th birthday.

Greg, along with his wife Jill Meredith, loved his time with SBNG and frequented all group meetings regularly.  His business, based at Ettalong, was Talk'n Tours, producing downloadable audio tours and guides covering New Zealand and Australia.

The Committee of SBNG sends condolences to Greg's family and friends.

Another great meeting at Ettalong today, where members and guests walked away with some really valuable insights from Paul Skene of  FinTrans.

Securing financing can be a daunting task for small business owners, but it's a vital step toward growth and stability.

Paul not only shared some practical tips on preparing for loan applications, but gave some fabulous tips on identifying suitable financing options, and how to present a compelling case to lenders.

Understanding how to assess your financing needs, improve your creditworthiness, and choose between funding sources—like business loans, equipment financing, and lines of credit - these are critical skills for small business owners.

For more information, email Paul Skene

As always, our thanks to the staff at Bobby's Cafe for looking after our breakfasts.

With the sudden closure of Ilya Cafe earlier last month we've had a bit of a scramble searching for a new permanent venue... which we have found, right next door to Cheeky Charlie's Cafe in Fountain Plaza - the café owner has recently bought the New York Bar and has great plans.

Going forwards this is where our Erina meetings will happen - just order your breakfast through the cafe and they will deliver it to you in the bar.

Our meeting yesterday was a straightforward Networking Breakfast.  We hold these on a regular basis to allow time for everyone to build connections on a more personal level.

The turnout was amazing - so many new faces!  Was it curiosity about the new venue or is word spreading that SBNG is the Best Networking group on the Central Coast?

A little sidetrack off our regular style of meeting, this presentation from SBNG Secretary Nicola Davies-Cooke was very well attended - so perhaps there's something to note here!

Sometimes the To Do list of a small business owner can cause us to forget that we are all human beings.   We get so caught up in daily tasks, or self judgement for not completing things .... we wear ourselves down.  We call it STRESS.

As a coach and trainer Nicola specifically deals with neurodiversity, and shared that one common theme for all human beings is the need to feel in control.   And when things are going "wrong" this can cause a disregulation in our nervous system, so here are some tips for easily changing how you are feeling:

• 10 second rule!  Under stress, the brain produces adrenaline & cortisol.  These hormones can dissipate in 6-10 seconds and this helps you arrest the "fight / flight" response.
• Breathe!  2 minutes of either Balloon Breathing (imagine your belly is a balloon - expand it, then let the air out through loose lips) or Box Breathing (breathe in for 4, hold for 4, out for 4, hold for 4) will calm the body and mind
• Exercise!  Even a small amount of exercise will change the chemicals being released.  Endorphins improve mind balance and make you feel good.
• Mindfulness!  Try the 5 senses exercise to discover things that you're not consciously noticing, eg. 5 things you can see; 4 things you can feel; 3 things you can hear; 2 things you can smell; 1 thing you can taste

Creating a Personal Stress Management Plan can help identify your personal stressors & symptoms; set goals for stress reduction; define strategies that work for you and provides an evaluation process so you can make easy adjustments as you go.

Another fabulous meeting at Ettalong yesterday and our Guest Speaker was Robyn Ratcliff.

With 25 years as a Business Trainer and Coach, Robyn works with business owners to grow their business, in particular in the digital and online space.  In this presentation we learned what a Sales and Marketing Funnel is and also the different stages of the Sales/Marketing Funnel.

Exploring how to automate this process through different tools and strategies, we discovered that the stages to be covered are:

• Awareness: Attracting leads through marketing efforts (e.g., social media, SEO, ads)
• Interest: Engaging leads by providing valuable content, offers, and information
• Decision: Offering targeted solutions that cater to the customer's needs.
• Action: Driving the conversion—how to optimize the checkout process.

Thank you Robyn for this fabulous morning which was very well attended.

Our thanks to the staff at Bobby's Cafe for looking after our breakfast requirements.

Back by popular demand, our homegrown marketing expert Sarah Cook took us on a fabulous journey into this powerful software, Canva.

Here’s what we covered:
✅ What Canva is – a free, user-friendly online design tool
✅ The difference between the free and pro plans
✅ How Canva simplifies social media posts, presentations, and marketing materials
✅ A bit of history – did you know Canva was founded in Australia?
✅ A live demo exploring key features like templates, the Brand Kit, and Magic Resize

Clearly that's just a very quick summary of a fascinating dive into Canva's capabilities - this well attended meeting was quite excited!

Thank you Sarah

Another well attended Networking Breakfast meeting at Tuggerah this morning, so nice to see some new faces too.

Everyone had a contribution to make as we explored some topics in round table discussion:

• What's been the best lesson you've learned in business to date?
• What do you consider to be the most important skill in your industry

A big thank you to all members and guests who joined us at Bobby's Cafe this morning.

It was fabulous to connect and network with so many incredible local businesses.

Keep spreading the word that SBNG is the best small business networking group on the Central Coast!!