The collapse of the resources boom in Australia affected thousands of small businesses. These are the characteristics a small business needs to survive an economic downturn.

1. Can your business run a marathon?
- or only do a quick sprint?
Building Sustainable Business
Communities
Moranbah
March 12th, 2015
1
Bronwyn Reid
bronwyn_reid
Mining For Business
b.reid@miningforbusiness.com.au

2. Business fitness –
one size (almost) fits all
2
Source: bodybeyondbaby.com.au

3. “The Boom”–
what happened?
3

4. Why did this happen?
4

5. 5
Sprint
Marathon

6. Will it happen again?
6Source: energyindepth.org

7. What can I do about it?
•Fitness for the long term
•Start training now!
•What sort of training?
•Range of skills, or just one event?
•Bowen Basin Business Development
Strategy
7
Source: bodybeyondbaby.com.au

8. The Business Journey
8
Source: healthandfitnessblend

9. How businesses grow
9Source: keypersonofinfluence.com.au
The business journey
70%
20%
6%
4%
STARTUP
Excitement
Optimism
STRUGGLE ZONE
No money No time
Stress Burnout
LIFESTYLE
Liquid
Flexible Fun
PERFORMANCE
Wealth
Scale
Strategic
Listing?
STRUGGLE
Growing
pains
Firefighting
Time
consuming

10. 10

11. What can I do about it?
Decode the Buyer
 Simplify the complexity
 Tell your story
11

12. What can I do about it?
Understand the game rules
 Practice your set-piece plays
 Organise your publicity
12
BMA Tender Templates

13. Decode the Buyer
Understand the rules of the game
Introduce yourself
Stakeholder engagement

14. Understand what they want
•How supply chains work
•Supply chain risk
14

15. 15

16. Understand what they want - clues
•Cheap
•Hard dollar savings
•Cost avoidance
•Value – how is it measured
•Innovation
16

17. Understand what they want
Productivity improvement is the
biggest risk facing mining and
metals companies worldwide for
2015
17

18. 18Source: ABS

19. 19Source: www.miningprocurement.com.au

20. 20Source: www.miningprocurement.com.au

21. Do you have what it takes?
•Reduce
•Rationalise
•Simplify
21

22. Simplify The Complexity
Practice your set piece plays
22Tender Templates

23. Systems – what?
23

24. The essentials
• Capability Statement
• Health and Safety
• Quality
• Environmental
• Risk Management

25. The rest
•Financial
•Time
•Human Resources
•Operations
•Project
•Tender
25

26. Systems are an asset
•Consistency
•Cost
•Control
• Stress
• Risk
•Business Value
26

27. Know your costs
•How do you measure your
output/product/service?
•How does your client measure it?
•$ per what?
27
What makes up a good
Tender Response

28. 28

29. Keeping (and staying) organized
29

30. 30Stakeholder engagement

31. 30.6
19.1
18.8
10.6
8.1
7.7
3.4
1.8
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Online
Recommendations
Publications
Trade Association/Conference
Speaking
Already know the expert
List of Top Experts
Other
%
How potential purchasers find experts
How do they find you?
31
Source: Hinge Marketing

32. How do they check you out?
32
80.8
63.2
62.4
59.9
55.5
0.7
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Look at their website
Search online ('Google' them)
Ask friends or colleagues
Social Media
Contact a reference they provided
I don't check them out
%
How buyers 'check out' potential service providers
Source: Hinge Marketing

33. Digital presence
•Website
•Social media
•Procurement sites
33

34. Tenders
•Good compliance
•Well priced
•Persuasive story
•Strong positioning
34
Tailored tender
responses

35. Tenders
35
Tailored tender
responses
Source: www.miningprocurement.com.au

36. Tenders
•Don’t do it the night before (They can tell)
•Be strategic
•Is it real?
•Do we want it?
•Can we afford it?
•Can we win it?
•Can we do it?
•Calculate your ROI
36

37. Seth Godin
• Job creation/job destruction
• It's easy to defend the status quo, except when the very foundation
you've built everything on disappears. Incrementalism ceases to be a
good strategy when there's a cliff on the route.
37

38. What to do?
Understand your buyer
 Get systemized
Consistency
Control
Cost
Create Value
 Tell your story
38

39. 39