Interface Australia Podcasts

The Money Tree

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 21:46:00 GMT

Regardless of what business you're in, the key to its success fundamentally is the ability to sell your products and services.

But what if you're a home based business doing it all on your own. Itâs not always that easy getting large retailers to stock your products or for you to promote your services, especially if, Like Carol Jones, you live in a remote community in regional Australia.

But Carol has employed some very interesting and quite rewarding ways to expand her business, and help others grow theirs in the process.

For more information, visit Simple Solutions for Difficult Problems

Love Your Supply Chain

Sun, 1 Nov 2009 08:29:00 GMT

When people first set up their business, they're all told to make sure you keep your overheads low and screw your suppliers on price to make sure you're always getting the lowest price.

Well, that may work for some people. But it's not Carol Jonesâ from Interface Australiaâs philosophy.

She doesnât like paying too much, but sheâs an advocate of paying enough to make sure you get the best service.

She sayâs treating your suppliers with respect is what makes them move mountains for you when the chips are down, and she joins me now to share her philosophy.

Don't Disappoint your Customers with Poor Quality Control

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 04:18:00 GMT

Quality control is a process employed to ensure a certain level of quality in a product or service. Essentially, it involves the examination of a product, service, or process for certain minimum levels of quality. The goal of a quality team is to identify products or services that do not meet a companyâs specified standards of quality.

There are many companies whose products and services fall short of their advertised claims, and despite whatever measures they have in place, customers continually are dissatisfied.

How does this affect your reputation as a business and what impact does it have on your success? And, if your quality control does slip up form time to time, how can you rectify it?

Today Carol Jones and I chat about how customer service can be your saving grace when your quality control falls though the cracks.

Made with Love and care

Tue, 1 Sep 2009 04:34:00 GMT

When most things that you want to buy - especially for someone else - seem to cost nothing and are all the same and made in China - what are you going to do? When a product is made with no love or care - what does it mean to own it or to give it? What is the energy invested in a product that is made only with cost saving in mind?

When it seems that all manufacturing is going to China and there are no manufacturing jobs left in the Western World - or much of the developing world either - what do you do? Do we give up? Do we try and make products in an even more mercenary way?

What some people are doing is that they are going back to a preindustrial manufacturing approach. The web is empowering those who want to use real skills to make things because it can connect them directly to people who want to buy products that are made with love and care.

Judging the Integrity of a Website

Tue, 4 Aug 2009 11:23:00 GMT

How do evaluate the integrity of the website youâve just landed on. The Internet can be a scary place. It's hard to know who to trust. There are some fundamental things you can assess to help you decide if the website owners are people you want to do business with, likeâ

How easy is it to talk to a real person? Are there phone and fax details or is it just email?
Do they let you know who runs the company, where they're located and can you talk to them?
Are they telling you everything you need to know to make an informed decision, or are they just trying to sell you something?
Are the product descriptions full of detail, or just a cursory bang, bang, bang. Take it or leave it.
Does the site make you feel at home, or is it just a corporate bunker?
Do you get the impression they want you as a long-term customer, or just want an instant sale?

All these tips and more are part of a guide Carol Jones from Interface Australia has put together to help you evaluate sites. Listen tot hem now in this podcast.