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New Year’s Resolutions

tom - 13th January 2012

Each January, I give myself a bit of time to sit and think about
what I want to achieve in the new year. As I’ve gotten older, it does not get
any easier. Knowing what one wants is the secret. (more…)

How & When To Raise Your Prices Successfully

tom - 22nd July 2011

I’m often asked how we do our pricing. In the old days, I used to check everyone’s prices and then charge around the same or a bit more. But these days we do it all professionally. We work out how much the ingredients cost, how much marketing costs, how much labour costs, etc. Sometimes we stop making a certain product because it’s just not worth it. There’s no money to be made.

People say to me they can’t put up their prices. If they do, they’ll lose business. Over the many years I’ve been in business, I’ve seen mates of mine not put up their prices and today they’re not in business. They went broke. (more…)

Balance is Bullshit!

Tom O'Toole - 8th April 2011

People often ask me about balance in life. Well, I can tell you there was never any balance in my life for many years. In the early days of being in business, it was all about choice and I chose to build a successful business, and to do that I needed to work 7 days a week for long hours. Luckily for me, my wife Christine gave me great support and provided the kids and our home with good ‘balance’. She also worked lots of hours in the business, especially during the busy times. But she always managed to devote quality time to our children, and also our community by volunteering quite a few times to be on several festival committees etc in the early days when Beechworth was establishing itself as a tourism destination.
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Help Yourself to Help Your Business

Tom O'Toole - 8th April 2011

I have just been to Tasmania to do one of my Bread workshops and it went really well. I do these workshops with Roger Simpson, from the Productivity Increase Group, as the facilitator and we have done these workshops for many types of businesses.

The Bread workshop is presented four segments in a half-day workshop, covering Self, Leadership, Customer Service & Goal Setting. My job is to give several presentations throughout the workshop on how I run the bakery, and Roger facilitates between my presentations, getting all the delegates to participate and work through their workbooks in order to get the most out of the day.

The reason that the first segment of the workshop is based on self is because you have to have a good look at yourself to be able to help yourself and your business.
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How Can You Identify Good Customer Service Traits in Staff Before You Hire Them?

Tom O'Toole - 8th April 2011

How can you identify good customer service traits in staff before you hire them? What ‘foundations’ should you be looking out for?

I often get asked what I look for when hiring staff. If we’re looking for customer service people, we start by talking to them about casual things like the weather, sports, and current events.

Get them relaxed. Make them feel comfortable. Only then will you find out what they’re really like.

The first things to look for: Do they make good eye contact? Do they smile easily? Are they confident? Do they speak clearly? How do they present? Do they look smart and clean?

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