Guest Interview

Bob East

Interviewed by Richard Purll

Bob's Linkedin Profile

Bob East joined the Mantra Group in 2006 and held the position of Chief Executive Officer from 2007 to 2018.

Bob and a group of passionate tourism operators created the Mantra Group brands and developed the Group into one of the leading accommodation providers and marketers in Australasia. 

Bob’s enthusiastic leadership style and vision saw Mantra Group grow from 41 properties in 2006 to more than 140 properties in 2018. He lead the company to a successful ASX listing in June 2014 which culminated in its inclusion into the ASX 200 list in 2015 – its first year as a public company. Bob then led the acquisition by ACCOR realising a sale price of $1.3 billion enterprise value for Mantra Group investors. 

Bob holds a Master of Business Administration, is Chair of Tourism Australia, Deputy Chair of the Gold Coast Suns Football Club (AFL) and Chair elect of Experience Co.

Member under the microscope

Nelson Wockner

Wockner Lawyers

The Edgewater Dining Story

Owners: Peter & Tracey Cianci

B.E.N. Breakfast Venue

Edgewater Restaurant 

Inspired by modern Australian cuisine, with a twist of traditional Italian style cooking, Edgewater Dining offers an ever evolving menu delivering only the most creative and highest quality dishes. Offering breakfast, lunch and dinner, Edgewater Dining’s inspiring menu is nothing short of amazing. Having been constructed by owner’s Peter and Tracey Cianci and Head Chef Jarrod Waring, using an eclectic mix of travelled and experienced tastes with creative culinary skills, each dish will have you craving more.

The Villager

Steve Holmes 

steveholmes.net.au

A little Ave that Roars

And a Village with Big Aspirations

New Emagazine Experience

3 Growth Challenges Your Small Business Will Face

It's time to book your Westin Resort Nusa Dua deal!

Return economy airfares, 7 nights accomodation, Full Breakfast daily, 3 course dinner and much more from $1799* per person twin share. Valid for selected travel 15 Nov - 23 Dec 18, 7 Jan- 18 Apr, 30 Apr - 30 Jun 19 unless otherwise specified

Contact our office on 07 5591 7311
Keith

How do you plan for success!

Have an annual budget and forecast monthly sales ahead based on current clients to calculate the new sales you need to make budget. Then discuss marketing with a marketing professional to ensure you spend the right money in the right places to generate the new sales required to make budget. 

Don’t forget it easier to sell more to an existing customer than fund a new customer. 

Upsell through packaging for add-ons  and encourage more transactions with existing customers through volume discounts.
Sept BAS due through tax agent by Nov 26. 

Richard Purll
Business Co-Pilot
Business Accounting Professionals
Richard's BEN Card Details

SMS from Office of State Revenue?

Last week (9 November 2018), we received a short email from the Queensland Government tax collector – the Office of State Revenue (OSR).

The message said that the OSR were sending text messages to property buyers who had received a transfer duty concession when they purchased their home.    The reason for the text message was to remind these buyers of their obligations under the Duties Act 2001. READ MORE

Nelson Wockner
Wockner lawyers
BEN Card Coming Soon

Where the car goes our business goes?

Through the looking glass we go

The age of autonomy starts this December, with Waymo at the wheel

After 9 years of secretive R&D and more than 10m miles of testing, Google’s self-driving car subsidiary Waymo will finally sell self-driving rides to the public in December. Not on a closed course, not for engineers only -- on the open road with regular civilians in the passenger seat.

Analysts estimate that, as the first player in the market, Google’s unnamed autonomous ride-hailing company will be worth more than $80B before it even launches (Uber is valued between $70B and $120B). 

A new name for a new game

Google’s self-driving taxi service will launch under a new brand name in Phoenix, where Waymo has been testing its autonomous cars with 400 volunteer “Early Rider” families since 2017 (Google has tested cars in at least 24 other cities). 

Since Waymo is literally millions of miles ahead of the self-driving competition (the company hit 10m test miles while GM’s rival Cruise is likely shy of 1m), its new commercial self-driving company won’t compete against auto-automakers, but against rideshare giants.

Like Uber, but without the disgruntled drivers

Using an app that resembles Google Maps, commercial riders will be able to summon an autonomous ride between any 2 points in a 100 sq. mile area around Phoenix, 24/7. 

Initial prices for the services will be competitive with Uber and Lyft, and backup drivers will ride along in some cars to “ease customers into the service,” according to Bloomberg.

The race is on, and everyone is speeding except Google

GM’s Cruise hopes to launch in 2019, Zoox in 2020, Tesla and Nissan shortly thereafter, and Uber is renewing its self-driving permits after accidentally killing a pedestrian in Arizona.

But despite the accelerating competition, Google has a commanding lead: Waymo has already ordered more than 80k cars and partnered with Walmart, Avis, and AutoNation to slowly expand its autonomous business.

With Uber stuck in timeout and self-driving competitors millions of miles (and billions of dollars) behind, slow and steady Google will probably be the first to offer you a robo-ride. 

The only question is: Will the robots let us sit in the front seat?

CREATING A BUSINESS THAT CAN THRIVE WITHOUT YOU 

• The two most common reasons business owners consider selling their business
• Why it makes sense to build your business to sell even if you don't want to sell
• The difference between growing value and growing revenue
• Why productizing makes it easier to charge upfront for services