Perth Media News

As Western Australia experiences increasing business activity, Perth Media’s clients are releasing more news. Here are our top recent results:

1.         A successful Media Conference, organised by Perth Media, for Blockhead Technologies in August, 2020. Perth business reporters saw $300,000 of gold bullion on display.  A presentation was made by Blockhead CEO Greg Leach, and representatives from ABC Refinery also attended. Coverage included Stockhead -  Gold Fraud is on the Rise but New Tech Is Helping Stomp it Out, S&P Global, Miningnews and Business News featured New Tracing App for Gold.

2.          Acuris and Stockhead covered Bryah Resources ongoing results and deal making while Paydirt featured the junior explorer substantially in its annual Diggers and Dealers Preview edition.

Source: ABC Refinery

Software Company – Blockhead Technologies – and Australian gold processor ABC Refinery enter partnership to trace gold bullion.

ADAPTERS: WA Retreat Restores You Close to Home with Perth Wellness Expert Amanda Hobley

Amanda Hobley

A group of professional women will be taking much-needed time to focus on restoring their mind and body at a superb retreat, close Perth, from March 20-22, 2020.

Wellness expert and Perth naturopath Amanda Hobley said: “In a modern world, it can be overwhelming and very stressful at times juggling a family and career.

Our retreats are designed to nurture women in beautiful Australian bush landscapes.

“This is our third WA retreat to this amazing location. Kangaroos, kookaburras, emus, cockatoos, ancient lemon scented eucalypt trees and brightly coloured wattles surround you.

“Often women are trained to use their intellectual or, some might say, rational mind and not to feel. I can help women connect with their feelings, intuition and emotional needs.

“This weekend is all about self love. There are no deadlines, no expectations, no judgement, and it is focused on accepting all aspects of ourselves including the emotions that we sometimes suppress.

“The retreat also gives you time and space to acknowledge and process emotions such as frustration and resentment. By dealing with and accepting emotions, sometimes physical tension, stress and pain can be alleviated.”

For the first time individual pamper packs, locally produced by Gwendy Lawrence at Purity Organics, will be given to participants. The catering on the retreat is also amazing.

Amanda Hobley, who qualified as a naturopath in 2004 with an Advanced Diploma of Naturopath (PANT), has worked with hundreds of women, supporting and empowering them to learn to become experts of themselves.

Focusing on women’s health, Amanda combines her own life experience with over 15 years of clinical experience and sees clients at her Highgate practice.

“I have a special interest in women who are in transitional periods, and working through stress while longing to feel connected, calm, and balanced,” she said. “There is great joy in watching these women regain their energy, motivation, and love for life.

Along with her private consultations, Amanda guides wellness retreats and journeys both locally (as in this event), and internationally, with trips planned to Kerala, India, in October and The Camino, Spain, in 2021.

She has a diverse range of additional complementary skills including Bodytalk, Reiki and Sound Healing. She conducts private consultations, group workshops, and online courses. 

The Rejuvenation Retreat is nestled in the Darling Ranges, Chittering Valley it is within an hour’s drive from Perth city and airport. 

Those attending often spend time bushwalking, as well as doing a variety of optional activities including artwork or creative play.

There are still two places available. To book, visit Amanda Hobley’s Website.

This article is one of many featured in 'Adapters', a series in WABN exclusively for Perth Media clients, profiling news of innovative small businesses, start-ups and not for profits.

ADAPTERS: Perth Feng Shui Expert - Michele Vos Castle - Teaches Self Awareness and How to Live on Bali Retreat in August

Complete Lifestyle Retreats - Michele Vos Castle

It sounds strange to say that a self-indulgent holiday can help you make big decisions, but that is exactly the advice Feng Shui expert, Michele Vos Castle gives to her clients. 

Ms Vos Castle finds that beyond the usual practices of Feng Shui, bringing clients onto a luxurious retreat brings them unparalleled clarity. She has been a Feng Shui consultant for more than 14 years and was trained by Master Raymond Lo, of Hong Kong, Joe Yap and Lillian Too at the Feng Shui Centre in Perth, Western Australia.

Clients often seek her advice at crossroads in their lives and Ms Vos Castle takes them in small groups and jets them to Bali for pampering and pleasurable pursuits which have inspired by a mix of Chinese astrology and Feng Shui. Her next special Bali retreat is planned for August, 2020.

“I do a lot of teaching in Perth but I’ve found a way of getting better results for my clients is to teach in retreat style,” Ms Vos Castle says.

“So, we go to Bali for five days, away from clients’ environments and families. The group can grasp my teachings and better understand themselves, which is empowering. People talk and bond, and I give them a reality check of how they can make the most of their characteristics and strengths.”

As a Feng Shui expert, she specialises in harmonising with the natural world and fuses those skills with Chinese astrology, to define individual personalities. Soon after touchdown in Bali, clients undergo analysis in which lifestyle and environment are dissected.

This is known as BaZi profiling, or Four Pillars of Destiny. Self-indulgence is never far away in either of the group’s two venues – a boutique hotel in Seminyak and a private villa in Ubud.

“Their stay must be private, indulgent and intimate,” Ms Vos Castle says. “There must be a safe environment for people to understand themselves and heal.”

Reflexology, massage, breath work and meditation in a tropical paradise are allied to a cultural day out that may include sound healing at the Pyramids of Chi and a water purification ceremony. “There are also lots of exciting restaurants and things to do, including French cooking classes.

”Alcohol is permitted. “This is not a health retreat, and you don’t have to be healthy to join in. But neither do we drink all night and overdo it,” Ms Vos Castle says. The vibe is fun and indulgent.

A golden rule is for single-sex groupings only, because the exchange of information is frank. Those dynamics are difficult to create in the presence of the opposite sex.

Her first male-only group flies to Bali in 2021. “A lot of men, just like women, need to relax and connect with themselves in a safe environment,” Ms Vos Castle says.

She hits another milestone in September when she goes to Bali with staff in one company to teach them how to bond.

“Nearly everybody who’s been on one of my retreats says it’s amazing…they go home with tools to help themselves through the rest of their lives.”

She makes a point of targeting ordinary folk, not only people in influential positions. There are even payment plans for affordability.

“We’re so busy surviving in this day and age that we don’t realise we’re not actually living. Yet, everybody is special and unique in their own way,” she says.

When people are asked about happiness after one of her retreats, they seldom describe material assets.

“They enjoy the sanctuary and the friendships they form. They like the indulgence and the peace and the fact that they’re being totally looked after. They can surrender and be themselves.”

If you are interested in finding out more, you can contact Michele at the details below.

Go to: https://www.facebook.com/completelifestyleretreats

Email: michele@completefengshui.com

Phone: 0421 116 799

This article is one of many featured in 'Adapters', a series in WABN exclusively for Perth Media clients, profiling news of innovative small businesses, start-ups and not for profits.

ADAPTERS: Perth Media Launches Media Mentoring Sessions

Perth Media founder Cate Rocchi is a Media Mentor

Do you have a media question, big or small? Or do you need help identifying your best ‘story’ or social media campaign ideas? For the first time, Perth Media now offers one-hour media mentoring sessions on publicity and media.  WA businesses and organisations can access advice on global trends as well as take part in practical training if needed.

Sessions will focus on continual improvement, with the aim of clients eventually winning new customers, members and/or stakeholders.

You would be working with Perth Media founder and managing director, Cate Rocchi. She is a PR strategist and content creator who is recognised internationally for her ethical and modern media practice.

Ms Rocchi established Perth Media, in her hometown in Western Australia, after working overseas for some of the world’s largest financial publishing houses, primarily in London and Hong Kong. She has built long-term connections with international journalists, bloggers, TV and radio producers.

“Sessions combine skills in public relations and content such as blogs, podcasts and films with social media. Content must be strategically woven through all parts of an organisation’s communications and assessed constantly.” Ms Rocchi said.

"Our Media Mentoring ‘learning-by-doing’ model ensures the adoption of new knowledge and skills, so companies and organisations can take charge of their own media and digital footprint.

“We have more than two decades of practical experience - we know what type of media work generates business leads and customers, how to create momentum and how to hold an event that is well attended,” says Ms Rocchi.

“Many business owners have a number of great ideas for news stories and we will help refine their strategies and target their campaigns. For example, we can upgrade a media release they have already drafted in-house or sit down and plan a film script or even talk through why a firm should consider filming as part of a yearly marketing plan.

“Films and video content are now standard media tools - for distribution on social and are key for public relations. We recently made a corporate film for a feature Australian Vanadium and I believe the film was key to achieving better coverage and more media results for the company, particularly in terms of TV coverage.”

Perth Media keeps up to date with global trends, and we pass on that expert knowledge to our clients. This week Ms Rocchi met with OCTO, an innovative digital media platform for the UK investment community, based in London. She also toured offices at The Nest in Tower Hill and visited the Cherryduck Studios. In a few weeks’ time, Ms Rocchi will return to work with animation experts in Delhi, India.

“We are a WA media company with expert global knowledge, and we want to work out how to help you capitalise on your opportunities,” she said.

One Perth client – Cath Ashton – reported the new service was excellent saying, “I left the media mentoring session with a clearer plan forward and valuable new options to consider.”

Perth Media mentoring sessions are $200 for a one-hour session at our office, 10/117 Broadway, Nedlands. You can book your spot on the Perth Media website here with sessions starting from Monday January 27, 2020.

Alternatively, if you have some great content ideas but no one to help realise them, Perth Media can supply photographers, writers and videographers, and craft stories like the one you are reading now. Perth Media’s ADAPTERS product provides a range of services from event coverage, photography of all kinds, social media campaigns and more. Our most celebrated ADAPTERS product was an article showcasing the ‘Empowering Communities Program’ at Sudbury House, a Mirrabooka-based community house, in Perth. It is one of many featured in the ADAPTERS, series in WA Business News exclusively for Perth Media clients, profiling news of innovative small businesses, start-ups and not for profits.

For ADAPTERS related inquiries, please contact Perth Media’s Sophie Minissale sophie@perthmedia.com.au

Adapters: Perth’s Jackstar Bookkeeping Services Thrives Sorting Small Business Accounts

Jackie Roufail of Jackstar Bookkeeping Services

A determined Perth mum and self-proclaimed 'numbers girl', who has been running a successful contract bookkeeping service for more than 15 years, says the secret to her success is hard work and building long-term connections with customers.

Jackie Roufail, owner of Jackstar Bookkeeping Services, began her business in 2004. Then, she was unexpectedly single and needed an income to support herself and a new baby.

Ms Roufail had studied accountancy and worked in the industry but did not complete final exams. But she had bookkeeping skills so she launched her company and has made an excellent living since, knocking into shape the accounts of many Perth firms.

“I wanted the flexibility to be a full-time mum, but still earn an income,” she said. She was fortunate with her business timing. A tariff – the Goods and Services Tax – had been introduced in Australia in 2000 and was causing admin difficulties for small businesses.

“A lot of people were in a position in which bookkeeping was something that was quite daunting,” Ms Roufail said. “I found that there was a niche for people to have a contractor bookkeeper, especially with the smaller businesses that couldn’t afford someone full time.

“And it worked really well because I would have clients come and drop off their paperwork to me at home. While my daughter was napping, I’d be able to do their books and then they would come back and pick it up.”

When she was studying accountancy, ledgers were commonplace. Her career evolved with software packages replacing pulp. She noted, too, how her business evolved with demands of a growing child.

“As my daughter got older – she was one at the time – she started going to day care. When that occurred, I started getting clients where I’d go to their offices for a day,” Ms Roufail said.

About 10 years ago, she received another fillip when the Australian Taxation Office began registering bookkeepers who worked on business activity statements. Some older hands quit, unwilling to undergo accreditation tests. She expanded into spaces they vacated.

This year, her daughter turns 16 and Ms Roufail has more than 60 clients.

One thing never changed: Ms Roufail continues to run Jackstar Bookkeeping Services from home, though fully-fitted business premises are within her scope.

The rapport she built with local firms – in one case she works for the daughter of longstanding clients – is personally important.

“I think my greatest achievement is the friendships and relationships that I form with the majority of my clients,” Ms Roufail says. “I don’t even class them as clients, they’re all friends. I go to their family parties, I’m part of everyone’s lives.”

Clients can spend more time with families if she does their paperwork, she argues.

The work is varied. One day she works in the diamond industry, the next with a builder, the day after that a hair salon and then a nuts and bolts business. “Everyone’s ultimate goal is their family,” Ms Roufail concludes. “So, if I can do what I do best, and the people I work for do what they do best, everything just works out better.”

That philosophy frames her advice for people doing their own accounts.

“Sometimes we take on things thinking we’re saving money by doing them, but, in the long run, they can end up costing us money,” she warns.

This article is one of many featured in 'Adapters', a series in WABN exclusively for Perth Media clients, profiling news of innovative small businesses, start-ups and not for profits. Jackstar Bookkeeping Services contracts for Perth Media.

Top 5 PR Results for Perth Media: December 2019

Australian Vanadium Limited on location (Picture - Sophie Minissale, Perth Media)

As we enter our warmer months and head to the end of 2019, Perth Media has seen a strong flow of media activity for both ASX and small business clients. Our top five favourite results:

 1.       As business investment sentiment rose for gold, Australian Mining reported on our ASX client, Bryah Resources’, multi-pronged strategy of focusing on gold, copper and manganese.

The West Australian/Kalgoorlie Miner also carried the good news story of high-grade results in excess of 30g per tonne emerging from Bryah’s latest Gabanintha drilling  program, and our Perth Media consultant, Celia Pozzecco, filed a report whilst providing on-the-ground support to Bryah MD, Neil Marston, at the Gold and Alternative Investments Conference (GAIC) in Sydney.

 2.       We organised a Perth Press Conference for Australian Vanadium’s announcement on plans for a vanadium processing plant near Geraldton. Local government and community support for the economic boost this will bring was covered by the West Australian. The article noted the benefits of local investment giving rise to lower transport and construction costs as well as increased quality of life for workers living locally. GWN7 News also highlighted potential local investment for Geraldton and the Mid West.

 3.       Australian Vanadium Limited subsidiary, VSUN Energy, saw the announcement of its second battery sale to a dairy farm in Victoria, carried by UK Energy publication, bestmag.co.uk EPL.

 4.       Mirrabooka-based Sudbury Community House became our latest not-for-profit Adapters client, as it commissioned Perth Media to tell an important story of community support empowering those in need. The story detailed their move away from a ‘deficit model’ towards a community approach of individuals being supported towards self-help. The story was published by the WA Business News e-news bulletin and circulated to a readership of 40,000 +.

 5.       Mid-November saw a global media campaign on the release of Renascor Resources’ Definitive Feasibility Study for its Siviour graphite project in South Australia. Multiple news sites carried stories, including Mining.com the Asia Miner, The Pick magazine, Adelaide Advertiser, Miningnews, Australia’s Mining Monthly, S&P Global, Acuris and Smallcaps.

 Janine Taylor – Consultant, Perth Media

Central Banks are Buying Gold and Investors Urged to Follow at Sydney Gold Conference

GAIC: Bryah Resources MD Neil Marston with Perth Media Consultant Celia Pozzecco

Global investors should search for investments in quality gold stocks, as equity markets become more uncertain, according to speakers at a Sydney-based gold conference, writes Perth Media's Sydney-based consultant Celia Pozzecco.

Gold has seen a recent increase in profitability, which is a reverse of trends seen previously. 

Speaking recently at the Gold and Alternative Investments Conference (GAIC) in Sydney, John Mulligan - Director, Member and Market Relations, of the World Gold Council - said: "Gold is now back in investors’ minds... The recent rise in the gold price has finally seen it break out of the side-way trading band in which it has been stuck.

"The gold price has finally decoupled from the US dollar which indicates investors are becoming more risk adverse. The US Federal Bank has changed direction abruptly and globally, and central banks are buying gold. Most importantly, the rising gold price is being driven by speculator and investor interest. US dollar strength will not endure, combined with negative interest rates and negative yield-bearing assets. The ‘new normal’ is low interest rates and low yields. This is all supporting gold investment."

“Equity markets appear to be in bubble territory,” Mr Mulligan noted. Gold price is long-term driven. Historically, it is a growth market, not a cyclical market. Gold investment always moves west to east: The People’s Bank of China was a gold seller for many years. Now it is a gold buyer, he said. In 1989, the bank sold 432 tonnes of gold. In 2018, it bought 657 tonnes of gold.

“The Asian century is about to begin…and gold is an indicator of that socio-economic growth in Asia,” Mr Mulligan said. He also said, in 2009, the European Central Bank ceased selling gold. Central banks of developing nations have emerged as substantial gold buyers. This is indicative of a wider acceptance of gold within the financial system. European private investors are buying gold – 2,630 tonnes in the last decade, while Chinese and Indian private investors are driving up global gold demand. Historically, gold production was dominated by a handful of players, led by South Africa. Now, due to advancing technology, gold has a global production base which helps make it a very stable investment.

Another keynote speaker was Egon Von Greyerz, Founder and Managing Partner, Matterhorn Asset Management. His talk was a rather depressing presentation on the current – and future – state of the world’s declining financial and geopolitical health and how, as a consequence, this is driving gold investment.

“I think we’re facing the greatest risk in history…we’re going to have a very tough time in the world,” Mr Van Greyerz said. There is no point in investors waiting for the storm to pass; they have to “learn to dance in the rain”.

This growing risk is all based on the outrageously high levels of global debt – including current debt and unfunded liabilities such as healthcare and pensions. In 2006, global debt was $125T. In 2019, global debt was $260T. Mr Von Greyerz estimates that by 2025, it will be around $20 quadrillion. Combine this with low interest rates and 10-year negative yields and it is "unprecedented in history”.

“The USA, like the rest of the world, will drown in debt, thanks to hyper-inflationary collapse," he said. Investors should think about having a lot more gold in their portfolios “because then you are looking after yourself. The governments will not have enough money to look after you."

“I might sound like a profit of doom and gloom but I’m just looking at the level of risk and you can’t put your head in the sand.”

This article is one of many featured in 'Adapters', a series in WA Business News exclusively for Perth Media clients, profiling news of innovative small businesses, start-ups and not for profits.

Perth Media Testimonial: Sudbury Community House

Virginia Aden, Chief Executive of Sudbury Community House

Photo: Perth Media‘s Sophie Minissale

“A huge thank you to Perth Media for an excellent article in the WA  Business News.

From the very first phone call to the article being  published, the process was handled with  respect, care and professionalism. The photographer was so cheerful and engaging, she put me at ease. And, I must confess, I do not take good photos and I had  the best photo ever taken of me!  They do listen. 

The article has helped  raise the profile of  Sudbury House in the community - and with all our stakeholders - with an in-pouring of emails, phone calls, introductions and referrals for potential projects, in partnership and collaboration with other reputable organisations.

I would highly recommend other not-for-profits to take up the opportunity of raising your profile and transforming the way you do business.”

Virginia Aden, Chief Executive, Sudbury Community House

Adapters: New Empowering Communities Program Begins at Sudbury House

Virginia Aden, Chief Executive of Sudbury Community House

Photo: Perth Media‘s Sophie Minissale

Mirrabooka-based Sudbury Community House, in Perth, has an innovative new empowering program to encourage public contributions and engagement.

Budding entrepreneurs, local firms, socially-minded people and those skilled in arts and crafts such as cookery and embroidery will have a role to play in the new five-year Empowering Communities Program in Sudbury House.

Virginia Aden, Chief Executive, says the new initiatives take a holistic approach that can lead to successful treatment of mental health issues, alcoholism, drug dependence, crime and domestic violence.

“It’s about humanising people who need help the most,” she says. “We are trying to move away from a deficit model of poverty and helplessness. We want to empower people to have a strength-based approach to make them respect and believe that every individual is more than capable of contributing to their own development and wellbeing and that they have the solutions to their problems. Sudbury House just needs to offer support.”

Already, a student from Perth Modern School is utilising modernised kitchens at Sudbury House to prepare edible cutlery as part of a project targeting mental ill-health.

Ms Aden is excited by the developments happening so early in the life of the program, which launched in July this year.

 “Just seven per cent of our running costs at Sudbury House come from public funds,” says Ms Aden who revitalised the 33-year-old facility after her arrival in 2011. “Seventy per cent of our clientele are refugees and migrants. When they arrive, they already have been traumatised in refugee camps.”

Sudbury House's main source of income is a modern early learning centre run by qualified staff catering for infants from six weeks of age to six years. Revenue generated by the facility's Learning and Development Centre pays for open-door services that include the drop-in centre, support groups and an information and referral hub.

Yet it is not enough to meet demand for services that Sudbury House provides as an organisation in the not-for-profit sector.

To rectify that scenario, the centre successfully applied for funding from the Department of Communities’ Empowering Communities Program, and received $1.5 million for distribution over the next five years to 2024. Funds will:

·         Stage year-round activities in The Mirrabooka Square, to raise awareness of partner organisations and demonstrate the community’s self-belief.

·         Act as an incubator for small groups to meet in safety to discuss day-to-day needs, supported by mentoring, coaching, computers and photocopying.

·         Hold annual workshops to share community ideas about evolving needs. Some will be developed into programs, supported by partner organisations.

·         Tackle unemployment by registering local skills such as cooking, artwork, craftwork, dance and music; then look at micro finance and social enterprise.

·         Offer grants to five community members to help plan and implement poorly resourced grass roots projects and ideas affecting streets and suburbs, with a view to raising finance.

Ms Aden says Sudbury House demonstrates that problems are manageable by collective action. “Let’s start a conversation that leads our people to their own solutions, giving them a solid base from where they can flourish and grow into their place in the community. We can literally give power back to these people,” she says.

“Our Sudbury family includes people of Aboriginal descent with whom a strong relationship has been respectfully built through their Elders.”

Ms Aden said program outcomes would be measured against impact, not attendance in hope to address two critical questions – have we changed anyone’s life and are they any better off?

Ms Aden oversaw the transformation of Sudbury House from a single room drop-in centre with a childcare annexe on the verge of closure in 2011 to a thriving community hub whose presence is so important to many. Ms Aden has worked with the peak body, Linkwest, and the Department of Communities (formerly known as Department of Local Government and Communities) to see SCH take shape as a multi-purpose facility renowned for a welcoming atmosphere.

This article is one of many featured in 'Adapters', a series in WA Business News exclusively for Perth Media clients, profiling news of innovative small businesses, start-ups and not for profits.

Perth Media Testimonial: Strategic Media Mentoring Sessions

“My first meeting with Cate to discuss the planning for my new business was money well spent. Cate had sent a pre-prepared business planning evaluation document for me to fill in which saved valuable time at our meeting.
I found Cate exceptionally knowledgeable and helpful. Her clarity on issues I raised assisted me in how I could effectively guide my business to a wider client base. I left our meeting with a clearer plan forward and valuable options to consider.
Would highly recommend investing time with Cate to gain a better understanding of navigating the media for your business.”

- Cath Ashton, Perth

In our new office at 10/117 Broadway, Nedlands, we now offer one-on-one mentoring. These are some of the topics covered in sessions: Mailchimp, marketing, publicity, PR, events, strategy, media linked to business objectives, SEO, google, why blog, canva, facebook, twitter, linkedin, instagram, editing, titles. We tailor sessions to client needs. Book now: $200 per hour.