James Tuckerman, Editor-In-Chief, Anthill Magazine

As you all well know, Anthill Magazine is committed to building a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in Australia.

Our readers probably know better than most that the majority of Australian businesses don’t get innovation. As a nation we are facing new challenges. New ideas are needed.

But only 34 percent of Australian businesses pursue innovation. There’s no doubt about it, for Australia to remain competitive more businesses must innovate.

That’s why Anthill is backing a new initiative called (re)innovate challenge.

(re)innovate challenge is a national business planning challenge developed to inspire businesses and teach them how to innovate. Over five months, these teams will receive extensive training to turn their ideas into viable business plans.

To spice things up (re)innovate challenge culminates in state-level awards and national-level prizes in the middle of 2009.

In short, (re)innovate challenge is a five month program designed to…

• Teach companies “how to” innovate.
• Over this time, ideas will be developed into business plans, creating spin-offs, efficiencies and a ‘can do’ culture in participating organisations.
• At a cost of $1,650 per team, (re)innovate offers on online program, concluding with state and industry prizes and awards.

Throughout the five months, each team will have access to forums, training manuals and video lessons to assist in every stage of bringing an innovative idea into reality – all this is done via the internet so becoming a part of (re)innovate challenge enables teams to work on this in their own time. 

Go to http://www.reinnovate.com.au/information/timeline for the (re)innovate challenge timeline. If you’re the CEO or HR manager, get your company behind this initiative. The goal is to make innovation just a natural part of the employee development mix and make Australia’s innovation capacity absolutely explode!

Plus, your employees might just develop the next big thing.

Teams representing Australian businesses are currently entering their ideas. 

James Tuckerman, Editor-In-Chief, Anthill Magazine

When you run your own business, some days are sooooo much better than others.

Most of us business owners seem to spend such an inordinate amount of time putting out spot fires, resolving unforeseen dilemmas and chasing forever imminent deadlines that it’s sometimes hard to remember the reasons we went into business in the first place.

That’s why, when something good and unexpected happens, life’s all the sweeter for it.

Today is one of those ’sweet’ days.

I am pleased to announce two developments that make me smile; firstly, at the ingenuity of a company that epitomises innovation and, secondly, at the growing reputation and influence of our own Anthill (and you, our proverbial tenants).

Development number one… Google ingenuity taps Australia.

Google understands that Australian business owners think differently from their friends over the pond.

We are tech-savvy but cynical. We are ambitious but largely risk averse (sadly). We rely perhaps too heavily on personal connections and because of that we build most our businesses using word-of-mouth as our primary marketing channel.

Whether this is good news or not, it nevertheless places Australian business owners in an unusual position. A unique position, in fact.

We offer the perfect commercial landscape for a ‘road test’. As Frank Sinatra once declared, “If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere.”

Could this mean that Australia is the new New York?

Either way, Google has developed a new e-learning tool, specifically for the Australian market, called ‘10 Steps to Promote your Business Online’.

And guess what? Anthill readers are getting the chance to road test it before anywhere else!

Development number two… Anthill’s readers are spreadin’ the news.

If Australia is the new New York, I can only assume that Anthill readers must be the new ‘Mad Men’, Madison Avenue’s famous (and infamous) marketing elite, known to ignite a global inferno of jibber-jabber at the drop of a designer cigarette.

Why? Because Anthill readers are erudite, articulate, educated, genuinely curious and driven by the process of creation (and hopefully not immune to flattery).

Seriously, you guys and gals represent Australia’s forward-thinking elite.

As such, we invite you to click here and test this new tool before anyone else.

The really good news is that this new tool was designed to help SMEs wrap their heads around online marketing and get started with a marketing plan, which first and foremost starts with search marketing.

It was developed by Google with an educational aim of helping SMEs understand the online space, whomever they might use to manage their online marketing and wherever they decide to implement their pay-per-click strategy.

By testing this tool, we also hope that you might just learn a thing or two about your business and its online marketing strategy in the process.

If, like ol’ blue eyes, you ‘want to be a part of it’ and shape a new business tool that has been missing in the Australian SME population for years (including the option to provide comments and constructive feedback to Google), click here.

First chance to trial. A new tool from Google for Australian businesses. And the opportunity to reward our loyal readers.

Now that’s what I call a good day in business.

Once you’ve ‘road-tested’ this new online learning tool, you can provide your feedback by completing our three-question survey (click here).

James Tuckerman, Editor-In-Chief, Anthill Magazine

The following blog post was first published as the Editor’s Note of Anthill Magazine Aug/Sep 2008 (AA29)

Why do people keep asking me to be reasonable?

It was George Bernard Shaw who gave us the maxim, ‘The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.’

As you know, we like to question common assumptions at Anthill, fight conventional wisdom, rally together to combat commercial stupidity.

We particularly enjoy it when we’re able to rattle some cages in partnership with our readers, because if progress depends on the unreasonable man (and woman), just imagine what an unreasonable army of Anthillians can achieve.

And we’ve been busy lately, joining our readers to collectively protest the surprise closure of Commercial Ready, inviting Anthillian blog readers to contribute to our Magazine 2.0 experiment and, in this edition, we contradict some basic assumptions of business and test the boundaries of ‘freeconomics’.

A recent highlight of Anthill activism, and the first of the examples above, took place on 19 June when ‘up to one hundred’ annoyed constituents, according to one of Minister Lindsay Tanner’s media spokespersons, called the offices of the Federal Minister for Finance and Deregulation to voice their collective concern over the Federal Government’s decision to cut Commercial Ready (CR).

The decision to cut CR, one of Australia’s most successful grant programs to support innovation, was made in reference to a report completed by the Productivity Commission, part of Minister Tanner’s portfolio, which found that the program supported too many projects that would have gone ahead without public support.

Of course, that’s easy to say once a project has raised development finance elsewhere, enhanced by the endorsement implicit in a government grant, and, only then, proven commercially successful. The scrapping raised the ire of our readers and almost anyone dedicated to the development of Australian innovative, new-to-world technologies and the companies that support them.

A stream of angry comments communicating the frustration, disappointment and general dismay of many Australian entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, scientists, technologists and innovation professionals began to appear on the Anthill blog, accompanied by a swelling ant hill of emails and letters to the editor.

And then, with a bit of help from Anthill, this general ire began to manifest itself into action, a ‘flash protest’, a mass ‘call-in’ to the Minister’s parliamentary office in Canberra with a simple message:

“My name is [insert name here] and I’m calling to voice my concern at the closure of Commercial Ready. Can you please make sure that the Minister gets my message?”

Normally an uninspiring and fairly bland sentiment such as this would go unnoticed, particularly if the 30 word message was presented by just one, lone and often lonely recalcitrant (as is generally the case). However, when delivered by ‘up to one hundred’ people, over a six hour period, orchestrated by email and SMS, the impression created becomes hard to ignore, representing one call every 3.6 minutes, relaying the same repetitive message.

Surprisingly (at least to me), all this ‘rabble rousing’ (without the rabble) has caused some of our observers (and even supporters) to criticise this editor because, by providing the technology and guidance to coordinate this flash protest, we complicated the jobs of our elected officials.

What the!?

To set the record straight, I am a proponent of positive change. (That’s how I ‘lean’.) However, change for the sake of change is just plain dangerous. And it’s the responsibility of every unreasonable man and woman to exclaim vigorously, “Hey! There’s a baby in that bathwater!” whenever the need arises, irrespective of their political persuasion or slant.

As I post this blog, Federal Innovation Minister Kim Carr has yet to make any decision on the matter, after declining to do so until the outcomes of the National Innovation Review, chaired by the respected Dr Terry Cutler, are released. (However, he did contribute his thoughts on Australian innovation in an Op-Ed column for the current edition.)

I, for one, without the benefit of hindsight, am excited. Like Anthill’s editorial ethos, the recommendations won’t please everyone. But that’s fine, so long as Australia keeps producing unreasonable people, progress will prevail.

James Tuckerman, Editor-In-Chief, Anthill Magazine

A couple of days ago, I caught up with an old school friend. When the topic of Anthill came up, he said with obvious but ill-directed admiration, “You must be a millionaire!”

‘If only that were true,’ was all I could think, before delivering a suitably ambiguous Cheshire grin and dropping a generous tip (the service was exceptionally good).

So, why am I not a millionaire? Anthill must be doing OK? (You might think.)

Well, to be frank, a business is only worth how much someone else is willing pay for it. And, until that time, it is worth the amount of profit it delivers to its owner or shareholders.

It’s also worth the pleasure it brings to the entrepreneur, of course (which is why I described my friend’s admiration as ‘ill-directed’, as it reflected his measure of success, not necessarily mine).

However, to get to the point, this harmless and well-meaning comment by my old acquaintance got me thinking. It initiated a ripple of thoughts, culminating in one final question…

How much is Anthill actually worth?

Understanding the value of any given business or opportunity is, of course, vital to its long-term success.

Firstly, because financial valuations are useful as a sanity check. (Am I treading forward or backward?)

Secondly, because knowing the value of a business allows you to reward staff with equity. (How can you allocate options without knowing the company’s fair value?)

And thirdly, because the value of your company is the first thing a potential investor or buyer will ask in the event of a capital raise or trade sale.

Yet, even the most sophisticated investors still describe private company evaluation as a ‘black art’.

So… over the next new few weeks, I plan to review five different aspects of valuing a private company. And, of course, I’ll be seeking your comments and observations along the way (call it learning by teaching).

Therefore, if you are interested in the value of your business, or if you are interested in the potential value of your business opportunity, read on. If you are an expert in this area, please join the conversation and help inform our readers (including yours truly).

To get the ball rolling, I propose that this blog series consider the following five topics:

Terminology (Liquidity Event, Hurdle Rate, Pre-Money Value, Post-Money Value)
Comparable Method of Valuation
Discounted Cashflow Method of Valuation
Profit Multiple Method of Valuation
Strategic Buyer Method of Valuation

If you have any further suggestions, please don’t be shy, as together we attempt to explore the ‘black art’ of business valuation.

James Tuckerman, Editor-In-Chief, Anthill Magazine

The high number of phone calls and text messages sent my way in the early hours of this morning had me quite panicked.

What had possibly gone wrong in the world that had people texting me before breakfast?

Well, it seems that Anthill lovers (or maybe just ant lovers) Australia wide felt that I should be made aware of BRW’s foray into ant-related visual metaphors.

Despite the aggrieved tone of some of the emails sent my way, I don’t think anyone can blame BRW for using a compelling image (and, we must admit, common metaphor).

In answer to the most common question…

I don’t think it suggests that BRW is looking for ways to emulate Anthill, even if the image does ever-so-slightly echo the Anthill brand. (It’s a very faint echo in a very long tunnel.)

Nevertheless, thanks to all those people who felt passionate enough to touch base.

We love you ’cause you care.

James Tuckerman, Editor-In-Chief, Anthill Magazine

Not so long ago, I was visiting a fairly mainstream website (owned by one of Australia’s larger media companies) when a banner ad popped up with an unexpected proposition… “Would I like a Hummer?”

Despite my moderate take on most things, I was surprised.

We’ve all been made lurid offers at one time or another while trawling the never-ending abyss of expressive freedom that is the World Wide Web. But I never expected this from one of the mainstream players.

Until I realised that the puerile part of my brain (that bit that makes me giggle when I hear the word ‘Titmouse’ and has me work in ever creative ways to get my friends from New Zealand to say the word ‘Six’) had led me astray.

Of course, this is exactly what the advertisement had intended.

Because, despite the sexual double-entrendre, the advertisement was, in fact, for something less exciting. It was for a service as dull and completely asexual as financial lending.

Yup, a Hummer is a very large American Four-Wheel-Drive and the business behind the advertisement is called, I kid you not, Debbie Does Carloans, fronted by a website reminiscent of that staple of yesteryear, the old auto-shop calendar (women draped over cars, holding various odd mechanical apparatus, with expressions suggesting that life could never be better).

I’ve included the link above because I’m sure that you’re mature enough to decide whether you want to click through or not.

Plus…

I’m conflicted.

Despite my initial surprise (and obvious curiosity) and even though I was honestly amazed that this sort of blatantly sex-centric advertising still exists (I thought John Singleton had retired?), I can also see the merits of the marketing angle.

The brains behind Debbie Does Carloans clearly knew what they were doing.

In short, they identified a demographic (young, male rev-heads), then created a product specifically designed to appeal to that demographic. Further, the entire concept is based on a history of sexual marketing that brings another dimension to the campaign.

It reeks of parody, with a touch of retro (two powerful tools strong enough to soften even the hardest of cynics).

And, of course, that makes me want to write about it (despite the possible inference that I am cheapening the Anthill brand by leading this blog and our weekly email newsletter with the risqué headline above).

More than one Anthill author has already made the observation that the sex industry is one of the most powerful litmus tests of where technology and business is heading.

We’ve all heard that Gutenberg’s printing press was quickly pressed into service by pornographers, after he failed to make a commercial go of it, assisting massive widespread adoption of the device.

It’s also been suggested that the battle between Betamax and VHS was won as a result of the porn industry’s wide adoption of the cheaper format, VHS.

And finally, the decision by Toshiba to cease production of HD-DVD earlier this year was apparently partly influenced by the fact that Sony’s Blu-Ray alternative has greater disc capacity and, therefore, allows more camera angles, which is of greater appeal to a certain high-volume category of viewing customer.

Yet, the question remains…

Was my initial reaction prudish or justified? While this sort of advertising is blatantly sexual, is it gratuitous? Or more to the point, is this the sort of information Anthill should be writing about?

James Tuckerman, Editor-In-Chief, Anthill Magazine

Around this time last year, I dedicated my editor’s note (in the print edition of Anthill Magazine) to the re-telling of one of Anthill’s many business blunders.

It was the sort of forehead-slapping, groan-inducing error that you think (at the time) you’ll laugh about later. It was such a simple mistake that you could almost call it an oversight.

So what did we do? What was our mistake?

In short, we forgot to renew our domain name.

The reminder arrived, along with a small pile of fraudulent renewal letters (the way that it is with respect to most publicly available snippets of private information these days). The legitimate letter was tossed away with the junk letters and the matter was overlooked.

‘But what about the email reminder?’ you might reasonably ask. Anthill was set-up while I was working for another company and I can only assume that the reminder was sent to a now defunct email address at my place of previous employment (but that’s a story for another day).

It was a simple mistake, a head-slapping, groan-inducing, something-to-laugh-about-later, insignificant error, right? Right!?

Well… no.

Within days our website disappeared, only to be replaced by a message stating quite bluntly that our domain had expired and was now available for purchase. And this was the message that greeted Anthill web-visitors for the next five days (an entire working week).

So, what was the fallout from this mini business disaster?

Firstly, we lost a chunk of subscription revenue (many Anthill subscriptions are purchased online). Secondly, we raised the ire of our web advertisers for not fulfilling our obligations. And thirdly, I can only assume that we disappointed the spectrum of people who frequent our website.

But the real damage was done to our credibility.

Many visitors assumed that we had gone belly-up. Magazine publishing is a precarious game at the best of times. The burden of feasibility is on publishers, particular within advertising circles, because most people know that the mortality rate among new magazines is extremely high.

However, like all hard-working business operators, we pressed on, fuelled by the scepticism of the doubting Thomas’s, dogmatically determined to prove our critics wrong. We also caught a glimpse of the goodwill Anthill has fostered since its inception, and became energised by the phone calls and emails of concern from our more enthusiastic readers.

Ultimately, of course, we came out stronger, with better systems, better reader relationships and the knowledge that most ‘business disasters’ can be overcome.

Making mistakes is all part of business. We never like to admit it. But it is often the fallout from mistakes that initiate growth and help us to excel.

We’ll be exploring this oft neglected area of business in our Aug/Sep edition.

This is our invitation to you. Why not regale us with your groan-inducing business follies? The best will be published in our Aug/Sep edition. Your disaster can be simple (”I forgot to put ink in the fax and lost a massive purchase order.”) to the complex (”We tried to launch bottled water into Alaska using a refrigerated truck, instead of a heated one, and discovered that it is, in fact, very hard to sell ice to the Eskimos.”).

We have but one simple request… Please, no PR agents allowed. We only want to hear from genuine business owners with genuine business disaster stories.

Remember, what doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger.

James Tuckerman, Editor-In-Chief, Anthill Magazine

The inevitable has occurred.

Some smart publisher has bought The Bulletin. Sadly, it wasn’t me.

Sydney Funds Manager Peter Hall is the new owner. He also reportedly has a stake in international current affairs periodical Monocle and UK political science journal Prospect.

In Saturday’s Age he makes the comment that he would like the new editorial culture to be “spiky, irreverent and fun, not stodgy.”

Hmmm… It sounds eerily like the Anthill Media Kit. But we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt (simply because we look forward to seeing the new look Bulletin, in its next incarnation).

We’ll be watching with interest.

James Tuckerman, Editor-In-Chief, Anthill Magazine

If you haven’t guessed already, we love to write about cheeky and provocative companies. But we rarely get the opportunity to talk about our own corporate shenanigans, successful or otherwise.

Today is one of those rare, self-indulgent occasions.

In early February, with news that Australia’s oldest circulating business magazine would be closing after 127 years, we released an email with the eyeball-grabbing title, ‘Who wants to help Anthill buy The Bulletin?’

And wowee! Did we get people talking.

The flood of emails, blog comments and phone calls generated by our rally-to-arms not only opened our eyes to the hidden popularity of The Bulletin (gotta love the loyalty of magazine readers). But it only showed us the faith you, our readers, have in Anthill. To check out the blog comments, click here (bless you all).

So, was it really our intention to buy The Bulletin?

Not in our wildest dreams. (Although, our ‘play’ did give rise to some pretty vivid dreams in the months following.)

The purpose of the email was to grab the collective collar of the Australian magazine industry, give it a good, hardy shake and make known the obvious: We are here and we are here to stay (cue Eye of the Tiger on your cassette tape now).

And what were the outcomes of this chest-beating exercise?

Firstly, the story was picked up by the daily papers and then the industry rags. To read our favourite (’tongue-in-cheek’) item of media coverage, click here. The story was circulated through various blogs and electronic channels, including the prestigious Walkley Awards membership newsletter. It also generated record traffic levels on our website (always good for our number crunchers).

But did all the kerfuffle motivate the powers that be at ACP, owners of this now defunct magazine institution, to pick up the blower and give us a call?

At this point, I’ll defer to my circumspect response when approached by Australia’s leading source of political gossip and corporate skulduggery, Crikey.com.

“No comment.”

Am I averting a dangerous breach of some carefully crafted non-disclosure agreement or am I simply adding fuel to the fire of controversy? (Heh heh.) Only time will tell.

In the short-term, we hope our subscribers got a giggle (at least a surprise) when they received our current edition and that we didn’t confuse too many news agency proprietors with our own little attempt to ‘revive The Bulletin’.

The image below is currently available as the reverse cover of our Apr/May edition…

…The Bullantin (Australia’s leading source of Ant-related news).

Click here (or the image) to read the headlines.

James Tuckerman, Editor-In-Chief, Anthill Magazine (wearing his publisher’s hat)

We like to think that we know a thing or two about business magazines. (We read a lot!)

I recently entered a heated debate about magazine advertising - What to look for, what works, what doesn’t.

Of course, you’ve got to get the fundamentals right - target audience, frequency and reach - but effective print advertising is about more than that. It’s about engagement - connecting with passionate readers.

After chatting with the Anthill team, we’ve devised some of our own unscientific and highly biased tips for evaluating print advertising options.

Be advised, the comments below are highly biased.

But they do honestly reflect how we see the world and our industry.

Step One: Read the Editor’s Note.

This is the bit at the front of the magazine where the editor (at Anthill, that would be me) waxes lyrical about the goings on at the magazine. If the Editor’s Note puts you to sleep or, worse, simply outlines what to expect in the current issue, our advice is simple. Run! The editor’s opinions and outlook should reflect the personality of the magazine.

Firstly, if the Editor’s Note bores you, the rest of the magazine will bore you also. And unless the magazine is a highly specialised B2B title (ie. Hammers & Spanners Quarterly), this is bad news for advertisers. Why? Advertisers should be seeking engaged readers, dummy! 

Secondly, if the Editor’s Note seems half-hearted (or doesn’t have a name attached to it), it’s a safe bet that he/she doesn’t love the magazine. Yes, you heard me correctly. Like any evolving organism, magazines need love to survive. I think that you’re probably already familiar with my attitude and approach, so I won’t go on. Instead, see my comments below about ‘community’ (Step Three).

Step Two: Check to see whether photos and illustrations have attributions.

This is a more general observation that we make time and time again when checking out other magazines - from business to ballet. In short, do the photos or illustrations in the magazine say who is responsible for the artwork? Is someone being credited for their creativity and talent? If not, then there are two possibilities (two assumptions) that we think are reasonable.

The first possibility is that the editor doesn’t love the magazine or he/she doesn’t respect the staff and contributors. (I don’t know which is worse.) Magazines are a team effort. Staff and contributors should share the credit (or the criticism when things don’t go quite as planned).

The second and more likely posibility is that the photos and illustrations are ’stock’ (from a photo-library). Sometimes ’stock’ artwork does offer the most creative solution (we use it occasionally). But, in most cases, it is used as a short-cut, at the expense of local talent.

Most publishers guilty of this crime will claim that the commission of new artwork is prohibitively expensive (we’ve never found that to be the case). But if the budget is still too tight, social networking sites like Flickr offer a great pool of untapped talent just looking for a ‘big break’.

In our view, a lack of attribution signals lazy publishing (like clip-art in a PowerPoint presentation). Again, this signals a lack of love, which is bad news all round.

Step Three: Check out the magazine’s website.

I’m about to expose possibly the greatest myth that surrounds the business of magazine publishing: Business magazines are purchased as an ‘information resource’.

This was certainly true twenty years ago, when the alternatives were few and far between. But today, unless the magazine is, once again, a highly specialised B2B title (ie. Underwater Welders Monthly), you’ll find that most successful over-the-counter business magazines are picked up as a ‘lifestyle product’.

This is because magazine readers, like all consumers, respond to products that reflect their own sense of identity (or an identity that they aspire to adopt). That’s why successful magazines can easily evolve into communities of like-minded people.

In short, a magazine without an effective online community, in our opinion, suggests one of two things - the creation of the online community is outside the financial reach of the publisher (which is hard to believe nowadays, since a wordpress blog can be built from a bedroom in minutes) or the publisher is concerned that if he he/she builds it, they might not come.

If a business magazine doesn’t have a suitably advanced online community, our sad assumption is that the print magazine is either purchased out of obligation or is not purchased at all (provided to its target audience free of charge). In which case, the publisher should justifiably fear the launch of a website, likely to be populated only by ‘tumbleweeds’ and drifters, like the proverbial ghost town.

Of course, if you want to check out the effectiveness of a business magazine’s website, or any website for that matter, there are a few online tools. The best free one that we are aware of is… http://siteanalytics.compete.com/

In summary…

Successful advertising is about engagement. And it is impossible to engage with uninterested readers. In short, it’s not hard to determine whether a magazine’s readers are passionate or apathetic. And that’s our unscientific and highly biased guide to effective magazine advertising.

If you think that we’re kidding ourselves, don’t hold back.