Scenic Rim Business Awards 

I am honoured to be appointed as a Judge for the upcoming Scenic Rim Business Awards, an event that celebrates business excellence across the Scenic Rim.

Queensland’s Scenic Rim is renowned for its breathtaking scenery, wineries, art galleries, bushwalking trails, equine facilities, agriculture, horticulture and welcoming rural communities, which include Beaudesert, Boonah, Tamborine Mountain, Kooralbyn, Beechmont, Kalbar, Aratula, Canungra, Rathdowney, Harrisville and Peak Crossing.

Here is a list of award categories along with past winners:

Excellence in Tourism and Accommodation: Tamborine Mountain Distillery

Excellence in Hospitality - Food and Dining: Scenic Rim Brewery

Excellence in Retail: My Country Escape

Excellence in Trades and Construction: Hobbs Building and Interiors

Excellence in Transport, Logistics, Manufacturing, and Mining: Joint winners Australian Lawn Concepts and RV Tanks Australia

Excellence in Professional and Community...

Announcing two exciting Grants-Funded-Programs for Small Businesses.

Are you the driving force behind a Queensland business of 2 to 19 dedicated individuals?

If so, you can elevate your business with one of John Hale’s two programs that will:

•   Amplify Turnover, Profit, and Employment
•   Elevate Business Confidence and Skills
•   Strengthen Business Resilience and Long-Term Sustainability

The Department of Youth Justice, Employment, Small Business and Training's (DYJESBT) boost grant initiative, is offering a substantial $10,000 to $20,000 in funding!

This involves three-stage application process:

Stage 1: Registration of Interest (ROI) - September 6th to September 12th, 2023.

Stage 2: Comprehensive Application - September 20th to October 10th, 2023.

Stage 3: Submission of Verified Accountant's Letter.

To apply please visit  www.business.qld.gov.au/starting-business/advice-support/grants/business-boost

PROGRAMS

In alignment with the Business...

Hot on the heels of a recent hybrid presentation last week to sixty or so startups at Brisbane’s Innovation Hub, I was invited back to speak to forty scale-ups this week.

I shared that scaling is an elusive and dangerous pursuit. During my hour-long keynote, I shared that in my thirty-five years as an early-stage investor, strategic adviser and business educator, I have gained powerful insights from businesses and organisations around the globe. I have met with and listened to some of the most successful founders and CEOs and some of the least successful. This accumulated wisdom allows me to share the strategies I believe every leader must cultivate to excel in business.

Regarding scale-up, I shared the six-step strategic mindset process from my best-selling book, The Strategy Book. At each of the six steps, Sense, See, Connect, Plan, Focus and Move, I interposed ten must include activities to scale successfully.

SENSE

I. Where you play matters - some industries are more...

With strategy, two phenomena worth considering are:

1. Barbells

Whether in life, business or an investment portfolio, capital is said to be ‘barbelled’ if 90% of your money is safe and the remaining 10% is allocated to risky investments. 

Young people ask me about their crypto investments. They share that crypto is not safe - crypto is risky. I share I am not a financial advisor. However, they might consider a barbell approach - limit initial crypto investment to 10% of their net worth and when the coin goes up 10x, then sell 90% for a profit and leave 10% in the coin. Once the coin goes up 10x, repeat. 

I have a pharmacy client who sells cannabis oil for a tidy profit - many patients use it repeatedly to treat insomnia, depression, anxiety and inflammation. Yesterday my client shared one of the riskiest areas of prescription medicine coming over the hill could be psychedelics to treat trauma and depression. My client imagined a barbell approach with 10% of capital...

Connectivity between groups of people with weak social ties gives rise to serendipitous moments of right-brain insight and idea generation. We can also gain insight when taking a shower or a walk in nature. In Great Britain, taking the day's problem solving to a local pub is a centuries-old tradition. There are 220 pubs per square mile in London but only ten pubs per square mile in Melbourne, which may account in part for Great Britain's superior track record of innovation when compared with Australia.  

Third Places

Whether in pubs or cafes, or intimate hubs, collaboration is essential for innovation. Social researchers reveal that relaxed, informal, densely interconnected built environments force groups of educated people to mingle for rich exchanges of ideas. Examples of densely interconnected urban 'hives' that force people into 'third places' are Greenwich Village NYC, Berkeley or Silicon Valley CA and Soho London. Contrast this with the Australian pattern...