Kevin Sheedy presenting at the School of Hard Knocks

Meetings are held throughout the year, with keynote business speakers, discussion groups, business book reviews, handouts and legal spotlights.

The School of Hard Knocks is a hands on, very practical club. The aim is for local businesses to grow, survive and succeed.

We want business people to learn from one another and to pick up on ideas from others who are outside their own industry and business experience and who might have quite different perspectives.

As an owner or manager of a business or not-for-profit enterprise, you are warmly invited to attend any of our business club meetings.

Business Club members can access handouts and material from previous meetings here.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Stay tuned!

We will be announcing details of upcoming meetings shortly.

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Suggestions

Heard a spectacular speaker? Please let us know. We're always on the lookout for presenters who challenge, inspire, entertain, and know their stuff!

LinkedIn group

We invite you to join our School of Hard Knocks LinkedIn group here.

Questions?

For further information, please contact [email protected]

WEBINARS

School of Hard Knocks webinar recordings

Recordings from the School of Hard Knocks archives.

ARCHIVE

Previous events

Guest presenters we have had over the years.

2023
2023
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2022
2022
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2021
2021
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2020
2020
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2019
2019
guest presenters
2018
2018
guest presenters
2017
2017
guest presenters
2016
2016
guest presenters
2015
2015
guest presenters
2014
2014
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2013
2013
guest presenters
2023-10 Nick Green

October

Nick Green is one of Australia’s finest and most decorated rowers. Dual Olympic gold medallist as a member of the “Oarsome Foursome” and four-time world champion, Nick was awarded an Order of Australia in 1993 and inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2001.

Off the water, as a global business leader, Nick channels the lessons that delivered unrivalled sporting success to help corporations and not-for-profit organisations make their mark, whatever their stage.

2021-11-16 Lisa McInnes-Smith

November

Speaker: Lisa McInnes-Smith is an expert on peak performance. With a tertiary background in Sports Psychology and Human Performance, Lisa propels groups, teams and leaders to new levels of achievement focus.

Topic: Up Your Capacity!

2021-08-24 Stacey Currie

August

Stacey Currie is a change expert. Her presentation and gutsy messages focus on turning the traditional goal-setting approach of "focus on what you want" on its head, providing instead practical tips for going after what you really want through conscious, positive and deliberate choices.

Topic: Good Riddance: How to make hard choices for a change

2022-09-06 Kevin Sheedy AO

September

Speaker: Kevin Sheedy AO

Topic: Coping with Change to make a Change: - The power of positive and lateral thinking

2019-02 - Danielle Storey

February

Our guest speaker was Danielle Storey international business co-owner and innovation champion.

Her topic was: “There has never been a better time to be YOU!”

2022-06-14 Olivia Carr

June

Speaker: Olivia Carr

Topic: Daring, resilience and being true to yourself - the keys to business success

2022-03-22 Paul Wade OAM

March

Speaker: Paul Wade OAM

Topic: The First Day of the Rest of Your Life! Leading by example and succeeding through adversity

2021-06 - Chris Helder

June

Speaker: Chris Helder

Topic: Uncertainty Acceptance - How an Adventure Mindset Will Set You Up For Success

2021-03 - Winston Marsh

March

Speaker: Winston Marsh

Topic: Simple Secrets to Revive a Locked Down World

2020-11 - Stephanie Bown

November

Our last guest speaker was Stephanie Bown, a performance specialist, mentor, facilitator, trainer and coach, and former Performance Partner to the executive and senior team at Swisse Wellness.

Stephanie's topic was: "Simplifying Strategy Creation".

2020-02 - Rob Nankervis

February

Our guest speaker was Rob Nankervis, business consultant and former Director of Performance and Improvement within Ernst & Young.

His topic was "10 Numbers to Drive Performance, Growth and Valuation in Your Business (and none of them are on your financial statements)".

2019-10 - Scott Dutton

October

Our guest speaker was Scott Dutton, founder of Fighting Fair, a leading conflict resolution training + services consultancy.

His topic was: "Difficult to Connected Conversations: DCs made easy".

2019-08 - Peter Engelhardt

August

Our guest speaker was Peter Engelhardt, founder of Plan2Brand and strategic design agency Creative Brew.

His topic was: "Brand Strategy Demystified".

2019-05 - Jessie Weatherley

May

Our guest speaker was Jessie Weatherley, founder of Jork Consulting, a boutique marketing agency.

Her topic was: “10 Red Hot E-Marketing Tips to Attract New Customers”.

2018-11 - David Sharrock

November

Our guest speaker was The Reluctant Entrepreneur, David Sharrock.

His topic was: "Gotta Keep the Customer Satisfied"

2018-08 - Rachael Robertson

August

Our guest speaker was Rachael Robertson, an Antarctic expedition leader with 20 years of 'extreme' leadership experience.

Her topic was: “Leading on the Edge: the future of teamwork and why respect trumps harmony”

We also had additional guest presenters:

The Reluctant Entrepreneur, David Sharrock sharing on “Highly Effective Leadership”

Jacob Sarkodee from International Justice Mission

2018-02 - Des Mueller

February

Speaker: Des Mueller

Topic: Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works!

Additional speakers:

Speaker: David Sharrock

Topic: Up Up & Away! Strategizing for Enterprise Success

2018-05 - Graham Kenny

May

Speaker: Dr Graham Kenny

Topic: A Blueprint for Agile Strategic Planning

Additional speakers:

Speaker: David Sharrock

Topic: Building Pyramids Incisive Planning for Enterprise Success

2017-10 - Leanne Faulkner + J Lancashire

October

Speaker: Leanne Faulkner

Topic: Stress Busters for You and Your Team!

We also had additional guest presenters:

Speaker: Jessica Lancashire from Online HR

Topic: Self-Care for Employers

2017-02 - Craig Rispin

February

Speaker: Craig Rispin

Topic: Bullet Proofing Your Business for the Future

Additional Speakers

Speaker: David Sharrock

Topic: Leading on L Plates – 5 More Things I Learnt in 2016

2017-08 - R Gauci

August

Speaker: Ron Gauci

Topic: Optimising the Performance of your Organisation

Additional speakers:

Speaker: David Sharrock

Topic: Planning for Enterprise Success (Part 1)

2017-05 - S Coulton

May

Speaker: Shaun Coulton

Topic: The 12 Steps to Building Your Personal and Business Brand on LinkedIn

We also had additional presenters sharing on digital media trends:

Adam Laurie from Digitial 360, shared on Current Trends in Digital Marketing Strategies

Phil Speers, from Catch All Digital, shared on SEO Do’s and Don’ts

Mitchell Zadow from Sharrock Pitman Legal shared on Your Business on the Web: Managing the Risks

2016-10 - C Helder

October

Speaker: Chris Helder

Topic: Useful Belief – as a game changer in the field of motivation and performance

Additional Speakers:

Speaker: David Sharrock

Topic: Generating Business Momentum

2016-08 - G Manton

August

Speaker: Glenn Manton

Topic: Positive Conversations and Life-giving Relationships

Additional Speakers

Speakers: David Sharrock, Mitchell Zadow, Andre Ong

Topic: Positive Conversations, Positive Relationships

2016-05 - J Cunningham

May

Speaker: Jason Cunningham

Topic: Have Your Cake and Sell it too: The 7 Key Ingredients of Business Success

Additional Speakers

Speaker: David Sharrock

Topic: Business Values

2015-08 - D Parkin

August

Speaker: David Parkin, former AFL player and coach.

Topic: Team Building

We also had additional guest presenters:

Speaker: David Sharrock

Topic: Red hot tips for firing up your business.

2016-02 - G Joy

February

Speaker: Graeme Joy

Topic: Leading Your High Performance Team

We also had additional guest presenters:

Speaker: David Sharrock

Topic: Leading on L Plates

2015-11 - V Hall

November

Speaker: Vanessa Hall

Topic: Marketing – the Maker or Breaker of Trust

2015-04 - D Penglase

April

Speaker: David Penglase

Topic: How to Build Intentional Trust to Boost Business Success

We also had additional guest presenters:

Speaker: David Sharrock

Topic: For Business Success, Build a Bridge of Trust

2015-01 - Iven Frangi

January

Speaker: Iven Frangi

Topic: Outstanding Customer Experience for Business Success

We also had additional guest presenters:

Speaker: David Sharrock

Topic: Customer Service

2014-02 - T Costello

February

Speaker: Tim Costello

Topic: Becoming the Business Leaders we can be

We also had additional guest presenters:

Speaker: David Sharrock

Topic: Business Leadership

2014-05 - A Gome

May

Speaker: Amanda Gome

Topic: Entrepreneurship – Crikey, I Forgot My Skirt

We also had additional guest presenters:

Speaker: David Sharrock

Panel discussion and Q & A with three local entrepreneurs, Christo Christophidis, Craig Lane and Adam Laurie.

2014-10 - R Pearson

October

Speaker: Russell Pearson

Topic: Elements of Effective Brand Design

We also had additional guest presenters:

Speaker: David Sharrock

Topic: Business Branding

2013-08 - D Sharrock

August

To kick off the first School for Hard Knocks our presenter was David Sharrock. Our business club was started for like-minded business owners and managers.

His topic was “What’s the Key to Sustained Success in any Business”.

2014-08 - T O'Toole

August

Speaker: Tom O’Toole

Topic: Workplace Culture and Team Building

We also had additional guest presenters:

Speaker: David Sharrock

Topic: Let’s go fishing …. for a vibrant workplace

2013-11 - Panel

November

We had a panel discussion on how to deal with tough financial times.

Our panel comprised of:

  1. Tim Wilson, Partner, Wilmit Australia Pty Ltd: 5 Hot Tips on Surviving and Thriving in Your Business in Tough Financial Times
  2. Paul Humphreys, Director, Accountkeeping Plus Pty Ltd: 5 Hot Tips on Having Great Business Cash Flow in Tough Financial Times
  3. Mathew Thong, Business Banking Manager, National Australia Bank: 5 Hot Tips on How to get Bank Finance for Your Business in Tough Financial Times
  4. Mitchell Zadow, Principal, Sharrock Pitman Legal Pty Ltd: 5 Hot Tips on Protecting Your Private Assets from Business Creditors in Tough Financial Times
  5. Ashley Davidson, Executive Director, Pitcher Partners Advisors Pty Ltd: 5 Hot Tips for Dealing with the ATO in Tough Financial Times
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