A couple of months ago friends of mine and @davideedle Josie Meadows and Col Red who run a little and very gorgeous frames shop in Albert Park, let me in on the secret that they’d just received a rather scary letter from Google’s lawyers about their business name Scoogle.

Col Redmond sporting Scoogle frames.

Now before you make the obvious link, well hey aren’t they playing on the hugeness in the brand Google here, the answer is actually no.

Scougal is the maternal family name of Josie’s and goes back a long way with particular resonance for Josie and Col. The business name was chosen to honour in a quiet way, history and heritage and some unique individuals on this side of Josie’s family. The change to Scoogle was an honourable nod to the family name but jazzing it up a little.

Josie is an optician by background and Col is an industrial designer. Both Scoogle founders have a great love and passion for unique and interesting design. Col for many years has been working on a new design for a scooter. The two go to Belgium and Spain and Paris every year talking to frames designers and picking up some of the best frames that are being hand-made anywhere in the world today.

Scoogle sells frames for fetching faces and is being sued by Google.

The frames at Scoogle (I have 2 pairs of sunglasses and one pair of optical glasses) are all gorgeous, individual, hand-made and lean towards a tradition of artisanship and care and quality in the design and creation of the utilitarian object. Scoogle sells products that are artisan/craftsmanship of the highest order.

So ironic then that this tiny store, selling a very specific niche product should be under legal fire from the monolith that is Google about losses due to infringement of brand, or something to that end.

You can read all about what’s going on with Scoogle and their legal stoush with the goliath that is Google in a great article by @bengrubb in today’s Sydney Morning Herald at Screw you, Scoogle, says Google.Please take the time to vote in the poll at the bottom of the story and lend your support to Josie and Col at Scoogle. And don’t hold back from voicing your opinion about this if it stirs you, on Twitter and Facebook. It’s worrying when a small, niche Victorian business is legally intimidated by a huge global monolith that seems to know no bounds.

Photos: Col Redmond

Niche Content Millionaire is a downloadable eBook that tells you the true story how we made millions from subscription content and membership websites. Buy Niche Content Millionaire Now

2010 has been an interesting one so far for us. We burst back from the summer holiday period in January this year and had decided that we’d launch a venture we’ve been cooking up in a relatively low key way with our friend and entrepreneurial colleague, Ed Dowling. The constraints we’ve worked with are that both David and Ed work full-time on consulting and contract work and therefore can only offer up snippets of hours here and there when working on the technology of this new venture. Even so, they’ve done magic and I’m happy to say that we’ll be launching this new venture, RushCrowds this month.

RushCrowds will be in beta mode for the first bit of 2011 and we’re issuing an invite to any small arts/event companies in Melbourne who have shows on over summer who’d like to test the technology with us, to get in touch. If that’s your company, contact me via the comments section at the bottom of this post.

So what’s RushCrowds all about? Firstly let me tell you the story of how the idea and the group that is David, myself and Ed came into being. In April 2009 I attended a tweet-up in Melbourne run by Sam Mutimer and one of the people there was Ed. We were introduced, chatted and he casually ran an idea past me that was actually identical to an idea David and I had had in 1999 which we called back then, Arts Rush. In fact we’d written a business plan for Arts Rush, in addition to a couple of other plans and ideas, one of which was to become Arts Hub.

What made us not pursue the Arts Rush idea in 1999? Well we didn’t have a vehicle to talk to a large audience quickly to let them know about a deep discount, last minute only offer on arts tickets. We knew that we couldn’t afford mainstream media and even if we could we doubted that the cost-effort equation would work out. Ultimately what we did was refocus our intention on the industry side of the arts and so we created an online community and jobs and news product for arts industry folk, that was Arts Hub.

But by 2009 we had Facebook and Twitter and ways of talking to multiple small audiences quickly. Ed was the smart cookie who realized that Twitter was a perfect vehicle to distribute an arts discount ticket offer through. Lots of people claim they’d like to go to more arts events, but usually don’t. There can be lots of reasons for this, but for me it usually is that I don’t want to have to be that organized to look out there, figure out what’s hip and happening and then go and organize an evening out, weeks or even months ahead. From time-to-time I’d just like to rock up and experience whatever’s being presented and if it doesn’t cost too much, then even if I don’t like the show, I’m still appreciating the fact that I’ve had this experience and it hasn’t cost me a fortune.

RushCrowds iphone app

I must admit David and I had a brilliant period when we were growing Arts Hub when we had hit all the arts companies radars and were offered free tickets to just about every show that was being presented in Melbourne. Even though Arts Hub at the time was strictly for industry only and we didn’t run reviews, companies still wanted the Arts Hub staff and founders to go to their shows. I guess I really enjoyed going to shows I had no or very little knowledge about and because the ticket was free I didn’t mind stumping up for a babysitter and the other costs that go with a night out when you have children. These days we no longer get free tickets, however at least once a month I still have an urge to go see something different, something that will expand my mind, present reality in a way I haven’t imagined before and otherwise shake me up out of my set viewpoints and beliefs. RushCrowds I hope can serve that function for me and everyone else who gets involved.

How cool is it to grab yourself a couple of tickets to a show at the Malthouse, or Sydney Theatre Company or The Fillmore in San Francisco at a discount of 50% or better for a show that’s on that night? I think the magic in this concept is in immediacy and that it’s about doing something tonight or right now, rather than scheduling an entertainment option for next week or next month. It’s about allowing the element of surprise and discovery to take a role in what arts events we get out and about to see.

I know that our very wonderful Melbourne Festival and Melbourne Fringe and other arts festivals around the world do this incredibly well every year, however they’re only available for a very small portion of the year and we’re hoping that by being able to make unsold tickets available at a deep discount at the last minute only on RushCrowds that we’ll encourage a ‘let’s try this’ attitude in the general population.

Anyway, it’s been a while coming and I must admit Ed, David and I have squeezed this among the other things we do to keep ourselves afloat, so RushCrowds has been pretty organic in getting going, but it’s something we all really believe in. That getting more people (especially more who don’t usually do this) to arts events is a good thing. It’s good for the artmakers – a full house is a beautiful thing; it’s good for the punters (trying something new and unknown is exciting); it’s good for the arts sector (fully employed actors, directors, stage managers are happy campers); it’s good for society (lots of people trying something new opens the mind).

RushCrowds will start on November 18. We’d love you to follow us and get on board the bus for this journey. The first RushCrowds city is Melbourne and you can follow us on Twitter at RushCrowdsMelb. Once RushCrowds gets its act together in Melbourne, we have 99 other arts cities in the world to get moving on. Stay tuned!

You can find out more about the business we did found instead of Arts Rush in 2000, Arts Hub and the adventure of getting started, growing and then selling the business in our book, Niche Content Millionaire.

Niche Content Millionaire is a downloadable eBook that tells you the true story how we made millions from subscription content and membership websites. Buy Niche Content Millionaire Now

Phil Grant joins Fiona Boyd regularly to talk about money and business.

Niche Content Millionaire is a downloadable eBook that tells you the true story how we made millions from subscription content and membership websites. Buy Niche Content Millionaire Now

Shane started his online venture Middle Eight Music a bit before we started Arts Hub and David did his website work and generally helped get the technology side of the venture underway. Middle Eight is an online specialist music store, which had a bit of a foray into the offline world as well, but the GFC put paid to being able to do both. In recent times Middle Eight Music has returned to its purely online origins and continues to delight customers around the world with the latest in show, cabaret and other hard-to-get specialist music product.

In fact you can find out how Shane Hewitt became the first investor in Arts Hub in our book about the experience, Niche Content Millionaire.

At lunch Shane was telling us about the highs and lows of trading through the global financial crisis, including the incredible drop off in sales as loyal long-term customers tightened their belts and stopped buying the little music luxuries that were helping them to stay happy, interested and sane. And how as the grim times eased, customers from all over the world were gradually returning and restoring their love of and involvement in show music through Middle Eight Music.

But one of the intriguing ways that the Middle Eight team got by was by doing a favour for a friend. During the midst of the downturn a friend who imported a very lovely goat leather bag from India and who sold them in Sydney at various markets, asked the Middle Eight folk whether they’d like to be a Melbourne distributor.

Goat leather bags really don’t have a lot to do with show music but as Shane tells it, the bags walked out of the Middle Eight Music store like hot cakes. Not a similar product, but a product nevertheless that traditional Middle Eight customers really connected with.

And so it was that a goat leather bag helped a specialist music retailer survive the volatile times of the global financial crisis. And since the bags are still selling like hotcakes Shane and Max (the other Middle Eighter) see no reason not to keep selling goat leather bags.

Just wondering if you run an online business, what your equivalent of the goat leather bag could be? Let me know in the comments section. I really enjoy hearing about the tricks of business that are really effective, but so unusual you’d never find them mentioned in a Business Plan.

Nexia ASR is a full service accounting firm based in Melbourne, Australia.

Niche Content Millionaire is a downloadable eBook that tells you the true story how we made millions from subscription content and membership websites. Buy Niche Content Millionaire Now

Colette, our 4 year old, has Down Syndrome and we didn’t find out this most important fact until she was nearly five months old. Colette started having seizures straight after I took her for her first round of immunizations, and for many months we had a fairly stressful time as we both found out that her seizures were noted in a small number of Down Syndrome children around the world each year and needed to be sorted and fast – and the other big shock was when her genetic tests came back and confirmed the neurologist’s suspicion that she had Down Syndrome.

I remember we found Andrew as our family doctor at this time, and I would mention my ability to get out and run was non-existent as my world changed and was being rocked around me, and he would subtly mention to ‘keep up the running’.

For the past six months, bar a much needed one week break with David at Hayman Island, I have very intensely been working on a project with another party that required an enormous amount of effort to get up and running and which was yielding no signs at all of any positive results. This was despite David and my huge labour on it and despite spending plenty of dollars on it. With the stress and anxiety around wanting to make this venture fly, I stopped running.

And Andrew noticed.

All the extra effort, hiring people to help, getting David onto the task of creating a totally new content management system, member management system and transactional system ( a huge task and one he solved with an incredibly good back end), creating new content, getting people we knew with great skills involved, shelling out our definition of a fortune in Google adwords – none of this actually mattered a jot. The results didn’t shift interest. People came to the site initially, but they didn’t stay and they didn’t buy anything. In time, they just didn’t come.

Don't give up what's good for you - keep running!

Andrew asked me why I hadn’t been running at the appointment and the light bulb went on. Working extra hard, doing more, angsting about it, pushing hard doesn’t get results if they’re not there to be had.

It’s been eight weeks since I had been running and skipping my time out on my runs had done nothing but make me feel fatter, less energetic, less happy and to actually put on a few kilos around the middle. Nothing huge, but enough to tell me that I’m on the wrong path.

I know I’ve had discussions with the hardest working (after David) entrepreneur I know, Scott Kilmartin from Haul that the one thing as a founder, business owner, entrepreneur you should try not do is give up whatever exercise you do. I believe we all do it, but the lesson in here for me is that giving up on whatever’s good for you doesn’t make you go better, and it doesn’t get the results you seek.

Before the doctor’s appointment yesterday I went for my first run in eight weeks and it made all the difference to how I felt physically and mentally.

It also made it clear to me that I had some big decisions to take.

I’m off for another run this afternoon and hope I can get my fitness back. I had been on track in April to run the Melbourne Marathon in October, but I will have to work really hard just to even be able to complete the half-marathon now. That was one of the goals I wrote down in my New Year plan.

So after a huge sideways lurch, I have a couple of pieces of advice to offer myself for the future. The second I’ll share with you in a day or so, but the first is ‘never, ever give up your running, yoga, walking’ or whatever it is that you do to keep fit and stay well. The hour you do this every day is the best hour you can spend on yourself and you should never let yours or other people’s expectations or business pressures, crowd it out.

Photo: aarmono

Niche Content Millionaire is a downloadable eBook that tells you the true story how we made millions from subscription content and membership websites. Buy Niche Content Millionaire Now

Michel Hogan runs the brand alignment and advocacy company, Brandology. Check out her weekly blog Brand Matters at Smart Company.

Niche Content Millionaire is a downloadable eBook that tells you the true story how we made millions from subscription content and membership websites. Buy Niche Content Millionaire Now

Fiona Boyd: My guest today is Phil Grant, managing partner at Nexia ASR. Hello, Phil.

Phil Grant: Hi, Fiona.

Fiona: Look, there have been a lot of reviews – or, there have been some major reviews that have an impact, should have an impact on the accounting area and business in general in recent times, as well as the budget, and I thought maybe you could give us a bit of a wrap-up about those today. Firstly, we had all that economic stimulus last year – are there any hidden issues in there for business now that tax time is coming round again?

Phil: The biggest thing that came out of that stimulus package really for business, I mean to the extent that more money was spent, hopefully that’s been reflected in the clients’ bottom line, not sure if that’s really the case or not – some yes, some no. Obviously the accelerated depreciation write-offs for certain assets, there were various different cut-off dates but essentially 31 December last year was the cut-off date, so it’s important that, in compiling information prior to doing your tax returns for the June 2010 financial year, is that we don’t forget that. Because, for small businesses with a turnover of less than two million dollars, the ability to have a 50 per cent write-off for eligible assets, so that’s a straight 50 per cent deduction in addition to ordinary depreciation that’s able to be claimed on those assets. So…

Fiona: That keeps money in the company in that financial year, right?

Phil: Well, it just becomes an additional tax deduction, so therefore there’ll be less tax to pay, so that obviously conserves some cash flow in that less money has to get paid out to the tax man. Other than that, look, I don’t think there’s a huge amount out there. In the more recent time, we had the Henry Tax Review, we’ve had the Federal Budget, and we had the Cooper Review, which was another review to do with superannuation. I think it’s fair to say the Henry Tax Review was a non-event. There were a number of recommendations made by Ken Henry in respect of that, of which I think the government took up three.

Fiona: Oh dear. Poor Ken Henry…

Phil: It was an absolute waste of time. Obviously there’s a political environment we’re dealing with there… and the only thing which really, I mean they’re tinkering with the edges there. It’s not – it really was a non-event. And that’s a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing is, less change is probably a good thing as there’s less to concern ourselves with.

Fiona: In what way is it bad?

Phil: Well, you know, the bad thing: if there’s change there it’s always a problem. But there’s always the opportunity for the government to do something which could benefit business and that clearly didn’t happen. Ah, they said they were going to give some small… that the company tax rate was going to go from 30 to 28. Really? Big deal, truthfully. It doesn’t really have much of an impact, and there was some write-off there for equipment, up to five thousand dollars I think it was. And there was some, for individual tax returns, five hundred dollar write-off… But, really…

Fiona: Small biccies.

Phil: For businesses who are really the drivers in this economy, who are going to help us recover and move forward – not much of an impact, in my view. There are a few things – the Cooper Review was quite positive. The Cooper Review reviewed superannuation and, without going into detail, they’ve really reinforced the self-managed superannuation funds environment, which we’ve always advocated as being a good environment to help build wealth. So that was a big tick. They’ve obviously come out and said that commission-based plans are out, and I think everybody knew that was the case. Our financial services business started some 12 months ago when we knew that was not the model we wanted to pursue, and so we were free-for-service business, and that’s certainly where the industry is going. That’s a big positive.

Fiona: And Eureka Report have been lobbying since you started to get rid of those commissions.

Phil: Dreadful, just dreadful. So that’s changed, and that’s having an impact on that profession, because a lot of businesses were driven around that. But it’s not transparent. Fee-for-service is more transparent which is really what we’re after. There’s always stuff going on in the tax area. One in particular is in relation to a ruling which came out in relation to a section of the tax act called Division 7a, which is loans from companies to shareholders of those companies’ associates, and caught up in that is also distributions to companies, a very technical area, but suffice to say, which has changed the tax office’s stance on their positioning of those distributions, which will have an impact. There is no doubt there will be an impact on that for business who utilise that type of structuring. I think a lot of people are just trying to get their heads around that. But I think it’s fair to say that it’s an adverse impact.

Fiona: How are those distributions different to retained earnings?

Phil: Well, in a trust structure, you don’t have retained earnings. So trusts have the choice of either distributing the income or retaining it. Retaining it is usually at a tax rate of 46.5 per cent.

Fiona: Okay! This is why you distribute.

Phil: So we distribute out to an environment which is more tax-effective, but it’s obviously a distribution at the discretion of the trustees and they have to be distributions that make sense, and often a corporate beneficiary is being used to access a 30 per cent tax rate. But that landscape is changing. So, everybody who is using those structures needs to talk to their financial advisor or accountant about what that means for them.

Fiona: Okay Phil, thank you for your time today.

Phil: Pleasure.

Fiona Boyd talks regularly to Phil Grant, Managing Partner at Nexia ASR about financial matters, accounting and the entrepreneur.

Niche Content Millionaire is a downloadable eBook that tells you the true story how we made millions from subscription content and membership websites. Buy Niche Content Millionaire Now

Our trip though was for R & R and not business thankfully though while we were there I couldn’t help but notice how many things done by the Hayman team and in delivering the Hayman experience, provided some unique insights into concepts that could be deployed in other places and other businesses.

One of these was the notion of offering a ‘peak experience’ to the customer base, not something that everyone will want to do, and the cost of it can be one of the factors that makes it exclusive, but something that can be nevertheless considered a pinnacle experience, a really neat thing to do.

On our day of arrival at Hayman Island, David and I trekked down to the reception to book a couple of adventures, one of these was to be the Chef’s Table and the other a few hours snorkeling on the reef. Chef’s Table wasn’t occurring until the night we were leaving, however there was a similar and even better experience (we were told) on offer called the Fontaine Bench.

At any one time there can be up to 500 guests at Hayman Island, and there are at least that many people again providing the labour and skill that keep things ticking over smoothely. Fontaine Bench is available for two nights a week and it’s only available to two people at a time, something David and I had not understood when we made our booking.

We booked the Tuesday night Fontaine Bench and rather than drone on about the amazing food and wine you can take a look at the menu, constructed just for us on that night, and one which changes as the Sous Chef sees fit, which can be often. The chefs at Hayman like to experiment and innovate, they have fantastic facilities at their disposal and use them to come up with new and unusual dishes.

The Fontaine Bench experience is for two people at a time and you are seated on an elevated bench at a table looking directly into the serving and preparation area of the Fontaine kitchen. La Fontaine is Hayman’s premier fine dining restaurant, where you can buy a hamburger for $150 a pop. We indeed saw a couple of these hamburgers being lovingly prepared by the Sous Chef, Anthony Healy, whose joy and delight in being in charge of the kitchen that night was simply infectious. His ingredient knowledge and ability to share it was also second to none.

Of the 12 courses we had, Anthony was able to talk us through the intricacies and ins and outs of most of them – food prepared to delight and entertain and inspire has a story and it was Anthony’s job to tell us the story of the food. It was such a great reminder to me that those who really love and know and understand what they’re doing are just so outrageously positively infectious.

But the key learning from me from the Fontaine Bench was that it’s good to have a really premium product available in your offering that can be that special one that those who use it wax lyrical about, and help bring other customers to your standard offering.

I really like the notion of having a standard offering and then a premium offering. With just about every type of product there will be a bunch of those who want and appreciate the regular experience and then a small handful who want a little bit more.

David and I spent a few weeks working with Marcus Padley who writes the fabulous stockmarket newsletter Marcus Today a few years ago, working up a renewal campaign to put a bit of spice into his subscription renewals and to remind people that his product offering really was the best of its breed. One thing we introduced after chatting to several renewing subscribers who talked Marcus up to the sky, was the Life Member category. It wasn’t cheap and the idea was more of an experiment to test the actual loyalty of these members, but we set the price at $5000 and waited to see what would happen.

Within two days there was a Life Member enquiry and subsequently sale. Two days after that another one sold, same again two days after that. We finished our stint with Marcus and this campaign, but I gained a really great insight into the mindset of the customer who really loves what you do – they will pay a bit more (or a lot more even) for a higher level of your product and maybe even a closer connection with you.

Crikey also figured this out when the founders were being sued and needed to find substantial funds even after selling their house, to pay their legal fees. They introduced the Life Member category, and lo and behold a raft of people who loved the Crikey newsletter and believed in the founder’s fight, signed up and leant their support. While there was an ideological underpinning here, the Life Members did get some special benefits: a special insider news just for them, and unique access to founder, Stephen Mayne,  that other subscribers didn’t get.

It’s true that your super premium product is unlikely to ever be the core of your business, as in the Fontaine Bench, but it can be the place where you build such strong customer loyalty around your brand that these super customers become your advocates and brand warriors. And even if they don’t they’ll just secretly enjoy their premium status in your customer group, knowing that they’ve paid for the privelege, and hopefully thinking it was worth every cent.

David and Fiona with the highlight of their Fontaine Bench dinner - the Martini Igloos.

So was the highlight of our recent Hayman visit Fontaine Bench? The answer to that question is ‘yes’. What then was the highlight of Fontaine Bench? Well that would have to be the Martini Igloo, pictured. A martini sorbet served in a carved ice sculpture, each one individually made for one service only. Pinnacle, peak, premium, call it what you will, this was one experience I’ll be talking about for a very long time to come.

Photo: David Eedle

David and Fiona write about their first visit to Hayman Island in 2006 in their book Niche Content Millionaire – the story of the startup, growth and sale of their business, Arts Hub.

Niche Content Millionaire is a downloadable eBook that tells you the true story how we made millions from subscription content and membership websites. Buy Niche Content Millionaire Now

However, we didn’t just want to map out and then tell the Arts Hub story, we wanted to condense the journey into some key lessons for those who wanted to venture into niche publishing. It was our belief then and it still is that one of the great frontiers online that has only partly been exploited is that of niche content.

What we mean by that is that if you can provide content of a high quality in a specialist or niche field for a bunch of people who are interested in or work in that area, then you can create a product that those people will pay for. Many of us understand that it’s important to keep abreast of the trends and challenges in our industry or even in an area that is a hobby for us, and pulling this sort of information together for people has a value.

One of the opening stories in the book David and I subsequently wrote about niche content and the Arts Hub journey, Niche Content Millionaire, was about our treat to ourselves and our children immediately after selling our business. David describes the bliss of being at Hayman Island in the Whitsundays, dropping the elder children to Hernando’s Hideaway (the island’s Kids Club, right next door to the Hayman Island State School – believe me they have a school there!) only to find out that the children needed their runners that day as they were going out on the reef, and that rather than David having to go back and get said runners, a porter was called to do the task. In the life of a harried parent, such service is gold.

In May this year I succumbed to a delectable special offer by email from Jetstar Holidays for a 4 night getaway to Hayman Island and the offer being just too affordable to be believable, I signed us up for it. The only dates we could get were in the third week of August and David and I are just back from our getaway to Hayman Island in the gorgeous Whitsundays. This time our visit was without children.

Hayman Island - has mastered the art of an Australian style of sophisticated service

It’s not often I’ve been known to say that a merchant has improved their service, but I must say that whilst the service we received at Hayman Island in 2006 was faultless and fantastic, this time round David and I agreed, it was even better.

When it comes to elite service, how do you get better? Surely the calibrations of certain kinds of service quality become much thinner, and individual perception and preference starts to have more of a sway?

Well what I noticed about the difference in service at Hayman Island Resort this holiday was that they seem to have perfected the art of an Australian style of great service, that is relaxed and empathetic and in tune with the customer. All our requests were deftly met and with absolutely no resistance, I can not say that that is my usual experience with any kind of service here in Melbourne. And that is not to bag Melbourne establishments.

Now you can say that it is easy to provide good service in a perfect climate when all the guests are relaxed and happy and not in the mood for trouble of any kind. However when you understand the sheer logistics and complexity involved in providing all the bits and pieces Hayman Island does to its customers with absolute ease and mastery, then I think you would be churlish to say that they have it easy.

I mused on this issue of even better than fantastic service on the plane home to Melbourne and decided that behind the scenes, Hayman Island must have one really great staff training program and that there must be some kind of focus around constant improvement, otherwise we would have experienced either the same level of service as in 2006, or not as good service.

And the impressions that this classy Australian style, friendly, warm, attentive but non-interfering service had on me – well I can’t wait to get us back there.

Hayman Island might be one of the older elite resorts in the world but to my mind the service quality there is the best I’ve experienced. In fact there were a number of lessons about business and excellence I took away from our recent visit to Hayman Island and I’ll share a few more of those with you over the next few days – one I want to tease you with is the Martini Igloo – more on that tomorrow!

Photo: Sarah_Ackerman

If you’d like to know more about how we celebrated the sale of our business Arts Hub, read our book Niche Content Millionaire.

PS – the constant references to Hayman Island are due to the writer’s hankering to return there as soon as earthly possible. The Into the Mountain folk, unfortunately have no commercial connection with the resort or its owners.

Niche Content Millionaire is a downloadable eBook that tells you the true story how we made millions from subscription content and membership websites. Buy Niche Content Millionaire Now