Business Archives - Zoe Sparks

Choosing a Mentor

Recently, I’ve been asked a number of times if I could be a business mentor to people who are starting out or new to business and looking for business advice. I always feel extremely grateful to be asked and take it as a huge compliment and a testament that people feel I’ve done an ‘ok’ job in my twenty years as a business owner. The businesses are diverse, people are at varying levels in their unique journeys and my priority is usually talk to them about whether or not, I am a good fit for them. To me this is [...]

By Zoe Sparks| July 13th, 2018|Business, Business Tips, Healthy & Wealthy, Strive & Thrive|0 Comments

Cheers to 20 Years!

Today marks a MAJOR milestone for Spectacular Events & Spectacular World Travel... today we celebrate our 20th birthday! Woo hoo!!! In 1998, I held the piece of paper in my hand that was my company certificate... I was aged 25 years old, ready to take on the world and initially we started out with me contracting to two or three companies to run their conference events. In less than two years, I had a travel centre in North Sydney which ran side by side to the conference work I was doing and following the birth of my first [...]

By Zoe Sparks| June 6th, 2018|Awards Tips, Blogs/Stories, Business, Business Tips, Inspiration|0 Comments

Be Authentic

Be true to yourself and try not to be something that you are not. If you follow your core values and be true to yourself in every aspect of your life, you will truly shine and earn the respect of your colleagues, staff, and clients. This is something to always bear in mind. That's all that needs to be said this week... a paragraph to live by!

By Zoe Sparks| April 30th, 2018|Business, Strive & Thrive|0 Comments

A Word on Budgeting…

Creating a budget is a great tool to forecast, plan, and manage income and expenditure for a business. The profit and loss report should be your best friend, so that you can see exactly what is happening within your business and understand how monies are being spent and from where income is streaming in. A budget will enable you to forecast and plan ahead so that you can allocate monies to various items or general lodger accounts to ensure you are not over-spending in certain areas. It’s important to be able to sleep at night and not be worried by having no idea as to what is actually happening with your [...]

By Zoe Sparks| April 19th, 2018|Business, Business Tips, Healthy & Wealthy|0 Comments

Systems are Vital

I’m a big believer in ‘systems’ and even though you will initially need to invest a lot of time and effort to put them all together and implement, the reward will pay you back several times over once you have established and put them in place. There are a number of systems to consider and look at putting together when you have a business. Computer software and IT platforms are a ‘must’ for most businesses in today’s world. IT systems will take care of your administration and accounting reporting requirements and will also enable you to keep an eye on all aspects of your business. Systems will allow you to [...]

By Zoe Sparks| April 11th, 2018|Business, Business Tips, Healthy & Wealthy|0 Comments

Back Yourself!

Sometimes you’ve just got to back yourself. When you know you have something of value, something to contribute, and something that can make a big difference to your world then grab the bull by the horns and back yourself. When you have that fire in the belly, feeling butterflies of excitement in your stomach, but feel scared or slightly intimidated, take a deep breath and push forward. We all have ideas but sometimes don’t share them for fear of being ridiculed or being considered wrong. Fear of failure can often paralyse us into submission and silence, too frightened to take a chance. What if it’s wrong? we ask ourselves. Instead, ask [...]

By Zoe Sparks| April 6th, 2018|Business, Business Tips, Healthy & Wealthy|0 Comments

Managing Your Money

The wealth of your business does depend on you keeping on top of your paperwork and administration, as well as controlling your cash flow. You also need to make sure that you are focused on your yield or net profit, taking into consideration all revenue and expenses. There’s no point being in business and putting in all the time and effort if you are losing money or going backwards. Owning a business can mean long hours, huge effort, and a lot of hard work, so you do want to make sure it is worth it. Most people own or purchase a small business to give them flexibility and the opportunity to [...]

By Zoe Sparks| April 1st, 2018|Business, Business Tips, Healthy & Wealthy, Healthy & Wealthy|0 Comments

The Importance of Business Ethics

A business that is considered to have good ethics will usually be more successful than organisations who do not act honestly and with integrity at all times. The way we carry out our business activities speaks volumes and customers want to deal with organisations that they trust and respect. Employees also like to be part of an organisation that is reputable, honest, and carries out business ethically at all times. Many also prefer to be employed by an organisation that is also supporting the environment and acting in a ‘clean and green’ manner. Always ensure your business practices are ethical and that your staff act with integrity and prove [...]

By Zoe Sparks| March 24th, 2018|Business, Strive & Thrive|0 Comments

Do you have a Mission Statement?

A mission statement is more along the lines of ‘how’you are going to achieve your vision. It should be short, concise, and meaningful but leave people in no doubt as to what you/your company stands for and what you are setting out to achieve and how. There are some fabulous examples of mission statements on the internet and I recommend checking some of these out to help you draft your own. Again, it’s good to get your people involved in this area—ask them what they perceive to be the aims, goals, and objectives of the business. You need to capture the essence of your business in one or two sentences [...]

By Zoe Sparks| March 14th, 2018|Business, Business Tips, Strive & Thrive|0 Comments

Do You have a Vision Statement?

A vision statement is a statement that positions exactly what you are aiming for your business to be or represent in the future. It’s almost positioned as the ultimate goal—exactly what you are aiming for as a pinnacle, usually as the business or organisation as a whole. It should be very clear and concise but also detailed enough that it gives a clear description of exactly what is intended to be the end goal/objective. It will usually incorporate the core values of the business. Some visions are short—e.g. ‘To have product in every home in Australia’—whereas others will be longer. A great vision statement will usually only be one [...]

By Zoe Sparks| March 7th, 2018|Blogs/Stories, Business, Business Tips, Strive & Thrive|0 Comments