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Category Archives: Business Planning

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Real Business Incubators – How Australian Indigenous PBC’s can stimulate economic development

Business incubation was a concept that started in the United States in 1959 when the Batavia Industrial Centre was opened. Incubation expanded in the US and spread to the UK, then Europe. The following graphic shows a “potted history” of business incubation. real business development In Australia, business incubation was supported by governments in the 1990’s but since then, the term has been somewhat debased by “fashion” and carpet-bagger consultants trying to ride a catchy phrase transformed it to become an offering of its parts rather than as a total concept. Hence many consultants now offer “Business Incubation services” to Indigenous organisations, to the extent that in Indigenous organisations today the term “Business Incubation” means to offer community members some form of support to help them start business, whether this be micro-financing, business planning services, or book-keeping services. While these individual services can help Indigenous small business owners, taken as individual services they cannot holistically help develop a start up business invariably conceived by someone in the community who is starting up from ground zero. Business services provided singly do not provide the support and tailored tutoring and mentorship to ensure the business aspirants are taken on the whole journey of business start-up and establishment. What is an aspirant going to...
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Why Native Title PBC’s need a Vision Statement and how to get it

Indigenous organisations, especially Native Title Prescribed Body Corporates and claim groups need a vision statement. This statement should serve as the sign-post to point all activity towards the greater outcome of the group, whatever that may be. It should provide a clear and succinct direction about the purpose for which the group came together and the aspirations they are working to achieve. This statement should also point to the way benefits are prioritised to avoid day to day arguments about who receives benefits or why some activities are funded and others are not. A clear vision statement becomes the guide for Boards and funds trustees about the allocation of priorities. Yet, many PBC’s and other organisations have vision statements – why isn’t this helping clarify priorities like it should? Let’s face it; many existing vision statements do not clearly point the way. They are word-smithed in long workshops that make every participant tired, they are often facilitated by “management consultants” who cannot bring the theory into the world of Aboriginal dynamics, and they often leave behind the communities that these statements are meant to represent. What you end up with is something so generic that it is meaningless, or even if the expression is good,...
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Structuring Australian Indigenous Business Groups

stucturing Australian Indigenous enterprises can be categorised into three main categories:-
  1. Those owned and operated by Indigenous individuals or “nuclear” families where profits may be distributed to individuals;
  2. Those owned and operated by Indigenous “communities” or larger Indigenous cultural family groups that are operated for the benefit of the whole group and do not result in distributions of profit to individuals; and
  3. Those owned and operated by Indigenous corporate and service entities and Native Title Prescribed Bodies Corporate where profits may be distributed back to that particular corporation or service entity or its constituent corporate members such as the previously mentioned “communities”.
The second and third categories may be described as “social enterprises” or “social ventures” whether there is an intention to make a profit as a business, or whether the enterprise is a not-for-profit community service-delivery organisation. This discussion deals with the structuring of the second and third categories. The first category is clearly a private individual business model and structuring for that category will depend on normal commercial considerations as normally applying to small business, including the application of tax. The second and third categories are more like a combination of community organisations (that happen to run...
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Choosing, Implementing and Cascading Performance Measures

sign Implementing Performance Measures Determining what to measure can take considerable effort, but it will probably be less than one-third of the total effort required to implement an efficient and effective measurement system. Data collection and processing systems will have to be implemented to produce the measures; everyone will have to be trained in using the systems and measures; and as the measures are used, some problems are sure to be identified that will require changes to the system. Perhaps the greatest challenge faced when implementing performance measurement systems is changing an organisation’s culture. Using performance measures requires managers and employees to change the way they think and act. For most people, this is relatively easy, but for some, changing old beliefs and habits is very difficult. Overcoming such problems requires strong leadership to provide appropriate direction and support. The best measurement system in the world will yield few benefits if the right knowledge, skills, abilities, and values are not developed in a company. An organisation doesn’t just interface with a measurement system; it is part of the system. Developing and implementing effective measurement systems requires leadership, commitment, and hard work. Some investment is...
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OTS Management