Jane McNamara

There are few family businesses in Western Australia, let alone Australia, which are almost halfway through their second century of business.

Passion and integrity are the keys to family business success, according to Leonie and Eric Gully, owners of Moon-Haven Natural Products and its manufacturing arm, Margaret River Natural Soap Co.

Agriculture Minister Kim Chance has announced that no changes will be made to the ministerial guidelines of the Grain Licensing Authority after an independent review found that the GLA system was of benefit to the grain industry.

Having conquered the Australian fashion market, Perth designers and creators of the su label, Sonia Audino and Silvana Cristillo, have set their sights on international success.

Nine of the State’s 35 business enterprise centres could be closed under proposed future plans announced by Small Business Minister John D’Orazio.

Perth businessman Roberto Pierucci decided to put the “customer is always right” retail philosophy into practice when a Kiwi tourist suggested he open a store in New Zealand.

Creditors of Perth expo company Media & Events Pty Ltd resolved on Tuesday that the company, which owes more than $800,000, be put into liquidation.

As director of Perth hospitality company, Beaumonde Catering, Mark Dimmitt knows first-hand the difficulties of running a small business.

Training Minister Ljiljana Ravlich has introduced several training initiatives to meet a target of 30,000 apprentices and trainees by 2009.

Perth family business CAZ Software will take its school management system Maze to a new level in coming months with the introduction of its new online product called eMaze.

It doesn’t happen often, that a state government minister and their direct political opponent find themselves agreeing with each other.

India has overtaken the UK to become Australia’s sixth largest export market and Western Australia’s fourth, worth more than $2.8 billion to WA last financial year.

There is no one single, simple solution to the skills shortage faced by SMEs and business in general, says Sean Gavin from Gavin Construction, but what he suggested as a starting point was an integrated, multi-pronged approach by government and industry.

Make no mistake about it, more and more small and medium businesses will start to disappear from the WA market, because big business is squeezing out the little guys.

Bankrupt businessman John Webb and his wife Denise benefited from payments of almost $200,000 from expo company Media & Events Australia Pty Ltd during the year before it collapsed owing as much as $866,730, an administrator’s report claims.

India, a sleeping giant in a market of opportunities, could start to rival China in the very near future, according to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA manager of international trade centre, Ian Whitaker.

The constraints placed on relaxation by a ‘time-poor’ workforce and the search for a market niche drove massage therapist Meg Watson out of her clinic and on the road.

The service sector’s value as an export commodity has been recognised by the creation of a separate visa category for 10,500 Australian business people to work and live in the US, according to local trade and economic specialists.

Curtin University of Technology opened a sister campus in Sydney earlier this week to take advantage of the city’s international profile and appeal to overseas students wanting to study in Australia.

An online marketing distribution service for boutique Western Australian wines is securing a foothold in the vast US market.

Ron McDonald is optimistic that Australian cattle producers will vote ‘yes’ this month in an industry-wide ballot to increase the cattle transaction levy by $1.50 to $5 per head sold.

Products and services for women living with cancer were the ideas behind new Perth retail store Amanita.

Small Business Minister John D’Orazio will finalise his recommendations concerning the reorganisation of the state’s Business Enterprise Centres network by the end of the month.

Perth company MineARC Systems hopes to develop its ‘refuge chamber’ technology beyond the mining sector to include projects in the nuclear waste, and major road and railway tunnel building sectors.

External administrators have been appointed to high-profile Perth expo company Media and Events Australia Pty Ltd, leaving uncertainty for unsecured creditors owed as much as $1 million.

Former Orbital Engine Corporation chief executive Kim Schlunke came to some interesting conclusions when he sat down three years ago to ponder the future of recreational transport.

The State Government is considering widening consumer protection legislation to include small business.

Perth will host a major international tourism event this month when the Australian Tourism Exchange makes its way west for the first time in its 20-year history.

Researchers at the University of Western Australia have licensed a technology that may lead to a new treatment for osteoporosis, the skeletal disorder that affects almost two million Australians.

Perth company Cool Energy is preparing for field trials of a ‘gas sweetening’ technology that could allow dozens of ‘shut in’ gas fields around the world to be developed.

It was a passionate love of chocolate that prompted Candis Frasier to start her own confectionery company and product range, Impulse Chocolates.

Activity tour company Western Travel Bug has been a part of the Australian Tourism Exchange for almost a decade, and the company’s managing director, Brian Anderson, says ATE 05 in Perth couldn’t have come at a better time.