The CC Voice attended the Central Coast Business Event at Ulverstone on 28th May. The council and Business Tasmania gave us a rundown on business activities in the region and showcased the FREE business support services available. Sorry for the capitals, but this had to be emphasised.
Kelly Brown, Warren Moore, and Fleur Bourke gave us back- ground on how mentoring can jumpstart and help navigate business development stages, especially for small businesses, where the owners are wearing many hats and are not able to hire a cross skilled management team.
There are between 2 and 5 hours of free business mentoring 1:1 support available per ABN. And it resets at the Financial Year, so get in quickly before the end of June to possibly get double the hours. Visit www.businessadvice.tas.gov.au and complete an online registration form to request to see a business advisor. Alternatively, you can contact the team at Business Tasmania on 1800 440 026 or by email at ask@business.tas.gov.au and they can assist in connecting you with the most appropriate service.
In addition, hot topics were discussed with the panel about local housing, healthcare, services for families, including childcare to help keep skilled labour in the area. Cheryl spoke about council advocacy in these areas to raise awareness. Darryl spoke about community development and economic development plans of council. Kate gave insightful statistics about the region, includ- ing 1/4 of the CentralCoast population is over 65, and by 2050 1/3 will be over 65. She also spoke passionately about intercon- necting local businesses and using the data available to shape council planning and decisions.
The Central Coast Voice would be interested in hearing about local businesses who have used these mentoring services and what the outcomes were. Share your story to help other local businesses.
Guide to starting a business
Have you checked out our guide to start- ing a business? It outlines each step in the startup process and helps youunderstand what’s involved.