Female entrepreneurs are ramping it up!

Wine entrepreneur among women chosen for Springboard Australia

Original article from StartupSmart

By Michelle Hammond
Wednesday, 13 February 2013

Picture Source: tenderfieldtours.com.au

Melbourne-based entrepreneur Georgia Beattie is among the first group of Australian businesswomen selected to participate in the US-founded Springboard Enterprises program.

 Springboard Enterprises was founded by US entrepreneur Kay Koplovitz, who is in Australia this week to raise the profile of Springboard’s Australian arm, which launched in May last year.

 Koplovitz founded Springboard in 2000. Since then, it has helped more than 500 female-founded US companies get off the ground.

 These companies have raised more than $US5.8 billion, with a third sold to larger companies or listed on the sharemarket.

 Springboard Australia is the country’s first venture forum program for women-led, technology-oriented businesses seeking investments for product development and expansion.

 It is led by Sydney businesswoman Wendy Simpson, who has remained vocal about the plight of Australian female entrepreneurs since stepping into the role.

 After encouraging businesswomen to apply for the program, Springboard has selected eight standouts from more than 100 applications.

 Among them is Georgia Beattie, whose start-up offers single serve wine packaging.

 This idea came about while Beattie was at a festival, where she witnessed the limitations of wine packaging when a bar manager couldn’t serve wine because “it was too hard at outdoor events”.

Since then, Beattie – whose father and brother also work in the business – has launched the brand Lupè Wines as well as the contract packaging arm of the company, Single Serve Packaging.

 But it wasn’t until she launched Lupè as a trial in Japan, Korea and Singapore that she realised the potential of the brand in the Asian export market.

 Now Beattie has become part of the Springboard Enterprises network. In addition to receiving advice from successful entrepreneurs and investors, she will be offered support from specialist mentors on an ongoing basis.

 When asked how much money she hopes to raise, Beattie told StartupSmart it will be “definitely over the $3 million mark”. But the value of the program goes far beyond funds, she says.

 “The past 24 hours have completely changed my perception of how big my company can be,” she says.

 “I’ve gone from being a little bit afraid of the idea of getting venture capital to, ‘This is the only way I’m going to be able to achieve the fast growth my company needs’.

 “There are past alumni [of Springboard Enterprises] who have flown in from the states and these guys are just absolute killers. They’re such an inspiration.”

 The other women selected for Springboard Australia are Samantha Cobb, Melanie Perkins, Tessa Court, Natasha Rawlings, Deborah Noller, Vanessa Wilson and Fiona Waterhouse.

 Their businesses are spread across a broad range of categories including biotech, clean tech, cloud computing, consumer technology and marketing.

 Noller’s business, Switch Automation, received a $2 million Commercialisation Australia grant in 2011, while Rawlings’ start-up, StreetHawk, was among the 2012 Tech23 companies.

 According to Koplovitz, Australian female entrepreneurs need more support in order to access global venture capital markets.

 “There are plenty of people who are willing to invest in young companies at the very [early] start-up stage,” Koplovitz told The Australian.

 “What is needed is to help women at the next level of growth who need to raise formal capital, equity capital.”

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Qualities of the Exceptionally Productive

I wish I could say that I was one of these people....

View the original article here...

7 Qualities of Über-Productive People

Jeff Haden

They work hard, and they work smart. But highly productive people also tend to think about their work differently from everyone else.

Some people get more done than others--a lot more.

Sure, they work hard. And they work smart. But they possess other qualities that make a major impact on their performance.

They do the work in spite of disapproval or ridicule.

Work too hard, strive too hard, appear to be too ambitious, try to stand out from the crowd. It's a lot easier and much more comfortable to reel it in to ensure you fit in.

Pleasing the (average-performing) crowd is something remarkably productive people don't worry about. (They may think about it, but then they keep pushing on.)

They hear the criticism, they take the potshots, they endure the laughter or derision or even hostility--and they keep on measuring themselves and their efforts by their own standards.

And, in the process, they achieve what they want to achieve.

They see fear the same way other people view lunch.

One of my clients is an outstanding--and outstandingly successful--comic. Audiences love him. He's crazy good.

Yet he still has panic attacks before he walks onstage. He knows he'll melt down, sweat through his shirt, feel sick to his stomach, and all the rest. It's just the way he is.

So, just before he goes onstage, he takes a quick shower, puts on fresh clothes, drinks a bottle of water, jumps up and down and does a little shadowboxing, and out he goes.

He's still scared. He knows he'll always be scared. He accepts it as part of the process. Pre-show fear is like lunch: It's going to happen.

Anyone hoping to achieve great things gets nervous. Anyone trying to achieve great things gets scared.

Productive people aren't braver than others; they just find the strength to keep moving forward. They realize fear is paralyzing while action creates confidence and self-assurance.

They can still do their best on their worst day.

Norman Mailer said, "Being a real writer means being able to do the work on a bad day."

Remarkably successful people don't make excuses. They forge ahead, because they know establishing great habits takes considerable time and effort. They know how easy it is to instantly create a bad habit by giving in--even just this one time.

They see creativity as the result of effort, not inspiration.

Most people wait for an idea. Most people think creativity happens. They expect a divine muse will someday show them a new way, a new approach, a new concept.

And they wait and wait and wait.

Occasionally, great ideas do just come to people. Mostly, though, creativity is the result of effort: toiling, striving, refining, testing, experimenting... The work itself results in inspiration.

Remarkably productive people don't wait for ideas. They don't wait for inspiration. They know that big ideas most often come from people who do, not people who dream.

They see help as essential, not weakness.

Pretend you travel to an unfamiliar country, you know only a few words of the language, and you're lost and a little scared.

Would you ask for help? Of course. No one knows everything. No one is great at everything.

Productive people soldier on and hope effort will overcome a lack of knowledge or skill. And it does, but only to a point.

Remarkably productive people also ask for help. They know asking for help is a sign of strength--and the key to achieving more.

They start...

At times, you will lack motivation and self-discipline. At times, you'll be easily distracted. At times, you'll fear failure or success.

Procrastination is a part of what makes people human; it's not possible to completely overcome any of those shortcomings.

Wanting to put off a difficult task is normal. Avoiding a challenge is normal.

But think about a time you put off a task, finally got started, and then, once into it, thought, "I don't know why I kept putting this off--it's going really well. And it didn't turn out to be nearly as hard as I imagined."

It never is.

Highly productive people try not to think about the pain they'll feel in the beginning; they focus on how good they will feel once they're engaged and involved.

And they get started. And then they don't stop.

...And they finish.

Unless there's a really, really good reason not to finish--which, of course, there almost never is.

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Stufftopia wants to be your friend-in-the-know:

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Some more insight from the experts at the Daily Reckoning Australia:

How Shadow Banking Turns Sewage Water into a Double Malt Whiskey (Click here to view the original article)

By Greg Canavan • February 12th, 2013

Yesterday we floated the idea that the Fed, and central banks in general, don't actually 'print' money. They just monetise previously created credit. We know that probably sounds confusing, so we're going to delve into the topic more deeply today. We'll also show you why the Fed is becoming just a tad concerned about the effects of its 'monetisation' program.

People create credit and money, not central banks. A central bank sets the price of money and credit. Individuals or businesses create money by borrowing it into existence.

Take the example of a (rare) first home buyer borrowing $250k to build a home. The money didn't exist previously but, using their credit and good standing, the bank agrees to create the money and credit their account.

The first home buyer then pays for the various services required to build the house, and the money flows through the economy. The loan therefore increases the amount of money flowing through the economy, which winds up back in various different bank accounts, which go on to fund other loans etc.

So the person now has a house as their asset, and a $250k debt to the bank as a liability. But 6 months later they lose their job, and can't make their loan repayments. The loan turns bad and the bank has to write down the value of it.

Imagine, for a moment, that this happens on a large scale. If the bank was to write the loan down in value it would wipe out shareholder equity and render it insolvent. It doesn't want to do that so it turns to the central bank for help. It says the situation is just temporary. It has a liquidity problem, not a solvency problem.

The central bank buys the loans off the bank for 100 cents in the dollar, even though they might be worth only 50 cents. In doing this, the central bank is monetising previously created credit that has turned 'bad'.

This is how central banks try to avoid deflation. If inflation is just growth in the creation of credit money, deflation is the destruction of this money via loans turning bad.

This is a very basic example of how central banks operate in the normal banking system.

But the real action happens in what is known as the 'shadow banking' system. This is truly a wonder of modern finance. It's a system that creates more 'money' than central banks could ever dream of.

And therein lays the problem. Shadow banking is an out of control beast. Its fuel is hope...hope provided by central banks that they won't let speculators go under.

What is shadow banking? It's a system of banking for very large organisations (money market funds, pension funds, insurers, hedge funds etc) that is largely unregulated.

Put simply, the shadow banking sector monetises the debt created in the traditional banking sector and uses this money to speculate in the asset and derivative markets. In other words, it transforms long dated, illiquid debt instruments into 'money'.

If you have a 10-year US government bond, you can go to an investment bank or broker and leave it as security (collateral) for an overnight cash loan. You then have 'money' to play with, and can keep rolling your loan over as long as you don't do something stupid.

Even if you don't have good collateral in the form of treasury securities, the shadow banking system has a solution for you. Through various relationships with the players involved (brokers, clearinghouses etc) you can swap a junk bond for a treasury note and then go elsewhere with your treasury note and obtain cash.

The shadow banking system is a place where you can turn sewage water into a double malt whiskey.

This all works amazingly well when participants are 'hopeful' that nothing will go wrong. There is faith in even the poorest form of collateral, like junk bonds, and when sentiment is so bullish, the system turns nearly all forms of market debt into 'money'.

But last week, a little known Fed member, Governor Jeremy Stein, gave a speech titled 'Overheating in Credit Markets: Origins, Measurement, and Policy Responses'. It's a bit dense, but well worth the read.

He basically shines a light on the largely unregulated shadow banking system, and ponders how the Fed should respond to the excesses that are beginning to emerge. He doubts that regulation can have a meaningful effect on curbing excesses, and wonders whether monetary policy should play a greater role.

Such a 'solution' may sound completely rational to a person with common sense. But coming from a Fed governor, it's a big deal. If Bernanke had made these comments, markets would have plunged.

The Fed knows the real turmoil in the credit crisis had its origins in shadow banking. It was where the double malt whiskey went back to being sewage water.

That it will happen again is assured. It always does. That the Fed is wondering aloud how it might prevent it is also another obvious sign of the inherent fragility of the system.

So, keep one eye on the exit, because the Fed is getting nervous.

And buy some gold, which is currently on sale for the Chinese New Year.

Diggers and Drillers editor Dr Alex Cowie has found a profitable way to do so, here.

Regards,

Greg Canavan
for The Daily Reckoning Australia

Until next time dear readers...

Crucial Tips for Gen Y Entrepreneurs

A interesting read for young entrepreneurs. View the original article by clicking on the title below:

16 Crucial Data Security Tips For Young Entrepreneurs

By Natalie David

According to Privacy Rights Clearinghouse’s “Chronology of Data Breaches”, more than a half a billion breaching cases of sensitive records have been witnessed since 2005. 20% of the breaches have been summoned courtesy of merchants, retailers, and other kinds of businesses that are non-financial and not related to insurance, with most of them falling between the small and mid-sized businesses range. Here’s another petrifying stat for you: nearly four-fifths of small businesses that have to go through the breach of data go bankrupt or face prodigious financial losses within 24 months of the breach in security. Moral of the horror tale, beefing up your business is absolutely pivotal.

You might not realize it as things stand, but protecting businesses from security breaches is not as difficult as it may sound. Furthermore, it is also considerably cheaper as compared to the cost – financial, physical and emotional – of the repair work.

Top 7 Security Breach Causes

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse claims security breaches normally are caused by one of the 7 following causes:

1. Malware or Hack Attacks: Individuals that aren’t authorized can access your devices and servers, more often than not courtesy of weak firewalls or inadequate passwords, and corrupt data through malicious software like computer monitoring software or cell phone spy software.

2. Disclosing Unintentionally: A person affiliated with your firm, can unintentionally share sensitive information on a website or social media, via email, letter, or fax.

3. Fraud in Payment Card: Information is dug out through a payment terminal or credit card.

4. Discarded, lost, or stolen devices

5. Discarded, lost, or stolen paper documents

6. Bad Employees: One of your employees intentionally leaks or steals sensitive data.

7. Stolen Servers or Computers

The 15 Data Protect Tips

Securing businesses from security breaches isn’t merely about the practice of safe tech. It has got a lot to do with recruitment of the right policy, formulating a robust security policy, and using common sense, from time to time. Confidential and sensitive data can be safeguarded through these 15 steps.

1. Figure out what sensitive data you possess, what its utility is, and where is it located. Make sure you inventory your company’s sensitive data and get documents on which serves and devices the data is stored.

2. Segregate the important data. You need to keep the sensitive data on as few devices as possible, and ensure that those devices are isolated from the network and the rest of the data. As few copies as there are of the data, the easier it will be to maintain its security.

3. Encrypt important data, it becomes especially important if the data is mobile. There is a multitude of data encryption options through databases, applications, or even through security suits. Encryption ensures that even in case of data breach, the actual information would be protected from ultimate compromise.

4. SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) can be used to receive or transmit information via credit cards or other such financial data. A secure, encrypted, SSL connection will protect sensitive data, when transactions are undergone via the internet.

5. Make sure you have background checks and two or more references for any employees that you hire. Any criminal record or credit history problem should mean that you should steer clear.

6. Formulate a robust privacy policy and ensure that sensitive data protection becomes an integral component of your company’s culture. Security policies are pivotal and if you’re allowing your employees to use social media sites at work, make sure that their systems are monitored and that they learn to keep their personal life separated from used related to work.

7. Use a strong firewall and a wireless connection that is secure. Make sure you aren’t still using WEP.

8. Make sure your anti-spyware and anti-virus software are updated regularly to counter the threat of computer monitoring software and cell phone spy software. Not keeping your software up to data opens up your data to all kinds of security breaches.

9. Ensure that you beef up your data’s security though strong passwords that are changed on a regular basis. Furthermore, make sure that your devices return to their login screens if there is five minutes of inactivity.

10. Ensure that your company devices only download reliable apps. Applications could easily have spyware, viruses, or even Trojan horses, hence it is absolutely important that you know and trust the application’s source before you download it.

11. Make sure you and your employees only download applications that come from reliable sources. Because applications (e.g., games, mobile apps) may contain viruses, spy ware or Trojan horses, it’s important to know and trust the source of an application before downloading it.

12. it’s a good idea to look the rooms and filing cabinets where the sensitive data is kept, and the keys should only be given to the employees that you trust.

13. Paper shredders can be placed in strategic locations inside the office. One of the biggest cases of the theft of security numbers and credit card information is trash cans.

14. Make sure the devices are properly protected, through password-protection. If any sensitive data is present on the devices, ensure that it is encrypted. Furthermore, every time you take your laptop for an away trip, make sure it is tethered to your smart phone as well.

15. Make sure you vet the security practices of the third party whenever any critical function is outsourced. Don’t be complacent and think that since the critical application is outsourced or information is stored offsite at an ostensibly safer ISP, data centre, or cloud provider it is safe and that no precaution is needed.

16. Hiring consultants or outsourcing security could help you ensure that your business is secure.

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Stocks to watch after today's close...

Time to buy Gold again?.... View the original article here...

The Next Surge in the Gold Price Looms: It’s Time to Buy Gold Now

Written on 11 February 2013 by +Alex Cowie and posted in +Money Morning Australia 

If you had to guess which country has stacked the most gold in its central bank in the last ten years – who would you pick?

Would it be India, the world’s biggest importer of gold?

Or maybe China, the biggest force in the modern gold market?

Nice try, but you’d be wrong with either guess.

The unexpected winner has accumulated a formidable stash – and just in time for the huge coming move in gold…

The answer is in fact, Russia.

For the last ten years, Russia has been busily converting its oil revenue into gold. According to the IMF (International Monetary Fund), the Russian central bank has now stacked 570 tonnes of gold in its basement. This has seen the total jump by 147% in a decade, from just 388 tonnes, to 958 tonnes.

To put that in context, the world’s biggest national government stash is the US holding of 8,134 tonnes.

So the Russians may have had a busy decade but they still have a way to go. Still – Russia is hot on the heels of China’s official holdings, which had 1,054 tonnes at last count. I say ‘last count’ because it’s coming up to four years since China updated the market. So they almost certainly have far more than 1,054 tonnes by now.

You only need to look at how much gold is pouring into China. Chinese gold imports from Hong Kong have soared in recent years from just a few tonnes a month in early 2011, to the interstellar pace of 114 tonnes in December of 2012.

This finished off a huge 2012 for Chinese gold imports, with a total of 834 tonnes going from Hong Kong to China – almost twice the figure for 2011.

Some of it will have gone to the central bank, but a large portion will go to the Chinese public. And as the Chinese get wealthier, they buy more gold.

The same is also true for India. The two countries buy around 40% of the annual (mined and recycled) gold supply between them, so it’s no surprise that as China and India have seen strong economic growth, the gold price has moved up in line with them.

Source: Reuters/IMF

So the recent bounce in Chinese economic growth is one reason to be more bullish on gold. I think this is one of a few key factors behind the market getting much more positive recently, after a very slow 18 months for gold.

For Diggers & Drillers readers, I’ve already tipped the five best gold stocks on the market to leverage the coming move in gold.

The institutional research on gold is really getting going now. For example, ANZ Research just called gold one of its top four hard commodity picks for 2013. They suggest buying gold as ‘dollar weakness and strong demand create [a] positive atmosphere’. In case you’re wondering, their other three picks are copper, palladium and brent crude oil.

We’ve also heard from JPMorgan calling for gold to surge very soon and for it to hit $1,800 by June. The reasons are that the Middle East is becoming more unstable, and that production is crashing in key supplier South Africa due to the country’s unstable mining industry.

But there’s one much bigger reason to buy gold now, which I’ll tell you about in a moment.

First I’ll show you why I think the timing for Aussie investors to buy gold looks particularly good.

When buying in Australia you need to factor in the Australian dollar. Thankfully it looks like the Aussie is finally on its way down, which would give the Aussie gold price a lift. This five year gold chart shows the Aussie gold price making its way up in fits and starts.

Aussie Dollar Gold – Buy on the Dips…Like Now

Source: Stockcharts, MM edits

You can see that the best time to buy gold is when the Aussie gold price has dipped below the 200-day moving average (red line). And the good news for you is that we’re pretty much in one of those dips right now.

Take another look at the chart above. If you could have timed your gold purchases over the last five years, don’t you wish you’d bought during the periods I’ve circled in green? Well if you buy gold soon, you should be able to do exactly that.

For my money, the main reason to buy gold and gold stocks, sooner rather than later, is the imminent effect of the Fed’s new pace of asset purchases. It is now buying $85 billion a month via QE3+4, and this has had an electrifying effect in the past. The current program now includes $45 billion in Treasuries, which should add some kick.

This chart below illustrates this beautifully. Over the last twelve years, as the Fed expanded its balance sheet (red line), both with QE programs and other asset purchases, the gold price (green line) has tracked it very closely. As the Fed trashed the dollar, the value of gold has become relatively higher.

Quantitative Easing Sends Gold Higher Like Clockwork

Source: Reuters / Ecowin

The important point here is that the blue line shows what will happen to the Fed’s balance sheet this year as it purchases another $85 billion in assets each month. You can see it started turning up a few months ago, but the gold price has yet to catch on yet.

If the relationship holds as firmly as it has in the past, then gold should start tracking up very soon indeed.

This would make now a good time to buy gold. It would also make now a very good time to buy gold stocks, but that is a story for tomorrow’s Money Morning…

Dr Alex Cowie
Editor, Diggers & Drillers