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| August 2018 |
| Welcome to Hobsons Bay Business e-Works Newsletter |
If this is the first time you are receiving this, welcome to our mailing list. Every month we deliver a business newsletter into your inbox full of information to help you on your business journey and to facilitate business growth. A strong and prosperous business sector is vital for both the Hobsons Bay economy and broader community well-being. The Hobsons Bay Economic Development team work with business owners, stakeholders and investors, to support and grow the local business community, and ensure that local businesses remain innovative, competitive and sustainable. In this issue you will find a plethora of workshops and seminars that you can participate in, including two local workshops being delivered as part of the Small Business Festival. If you haven't already done so, make sure you attend one of our DYOB Coffee Connect networking mornings, which run on the first Wednesday of each month. These events are a great opportunity to get you out of your comfort zone (and into a local cafe!) and network with other business people in the area. The next one will be at Favor and Grace in Laverton on Wednesday 5 September. We hope to see you there. If you would like any further information, or have any questions about doing business in Hobsons Bay, please contact the team on 03 9932 1654 or email business@hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au. |
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| DYOB Coffee Connect Business Networking - Wednesday 5 September | |
Hobsons Bay City Council invites business professionals from across Hobsons Bay to come together for the Discover Your Own Backyard Coffee Connect business networking series. This is a great opportunity to enjoy a coffee, promote your business and share ideas, while meeting business people from a range of different industries. Attendance is free, but places are limited. Get in quick to avoid disappointment and don’t forget to bring your business cards! When: Wednesday 5 September |
| Small Business Festival | |
The Small Business Festival is back again this year for the whole month of August. With over 300 workshops and events to help small businesses in Victoria, the festival offers a range of practical and innovative events that cover topics such as business planning, marketing, social media and lots more. The following workshop will be offered in Hobsons Bay and will be of value to any small business: Digital Marketing SimplifiedCan you be found online? Do you want to know more about digital marketing and how to convert more visitors and followers to paying customers? Hosted by FAB Marketing, this workshop will help to develop a simple, yet effective digital strategy to grow your business and make your products and services easy to find and appealing to buy. When: Thursday 23 August |
| Free Webinar: Why your customers are leaving the store - Tuesday 14 August |
Join this free webinar presented by Australia Retailers Association and learn why your customers are simply 'shopping' but not buying, plus ideas on how to overcome those issues. In this webinar, Founder of Ratelt, Michael Momsen, will walk you through his vital knowledge behind your lost transactions (using insights from Ratelt's own data), and practical tips on how to get customers to buy more. To register: Please click here |
| The 4 Futures of Business - Thursday 16 August |
Ever heard yourself say "I need more money" or "I need more work"? Hosted by Real Edge in Business, this workshop will outline the "4 Futures of Business" model for you to plot your current business course, and then unpack what your "Ideal Business" would look like, with an ideal income and freedom that you can achieve. When: Thursday 16 August |
| STRIVE, Real Women Real Power workshop - 19 and 21 August |
We have all set goals before, some not-so-successfully. Achieving goals is 90% psychology so if you have a lack of self-confidence or your underlying beliefs aren’t aligned with your goal… then your goal will never be realised. This half day workshop gives women a fresh new way to look at the things that hold them back from success and steps to re-aligning their psychology so they can pursue and successfully attain their goals. When: Sunday 19 August or Tuesday 21 August |
| BEC@Kangan Small Business Consultations - Tuesday 28 August |
Book in for a free one-on-one session with an experienced business counsellor from the BEC@Kangan. These consultations are available to new and existing businesses and are a chance for you to discuss any issues you have in regards to commencing your business or improving the performance and operation of your existing business. Appointments are essential as places are limited. When: Tuesday 23 August |
| Small Business Bus - Monday 3 September | |
Operated by Small Business Victoria, the Small Business Bus will be visiting Spotswood in September as a 'travelling office on wheels'. Whether you're planning, starting or growing your business, the Small Business Bus can help you to develop your business ideas and capabilities. Free business mentoring on-board the Small Business Bus is available from an experienced professional and can be tailored to address the specific needs of your business. The on board mentor can help you to identify a clear direction for your business, discuss key issues and priorities, and develop an action plan to achieve your goals. Please note that only one session is available for each business, and bookings are essential. When: Monday 3 September |
| Supercharge the true value of your business - Monday 3 September |
Do you want to increase the value of your business in preparation for sale, but just don't know how? Hosted by Modoras Melbourne, this free workshop will show you the key steps to realising the full value from the sale of your business and actions you need to take to maximise your sale amount. When: Monday 3 September |
| ATO Record keeping workshop - Thursday 6 September |
Are you new to business or thinking of starting a new business? Good record keeping is important even before your first transaction occurs. It can save you time and helps you to claim all the deductions to which you’re entitled. So give your business the best start by coming along to this free introductory workshop run by ATO staff. When: Thursday 6 September |
| Tapping into Tourism - Wednesday 12 September |
After the success of the session we ran earlier this year and to coincide with Melbourne Tourism Week, Council are running another free “Tapping into Tourism” workshop aimed at tourism operators and the hospitality industry, presented by Destination Melbourne. Tourists or visitors to your business can be locals, their visiting friends and relatives, regional Victorians, interstate or even international visitors. This potentially untapped target market is huge. Join the team from Destination Melbourne for a free workshop to find out more about: Destination Melbourne, Melbourne's independent not for profit tourism industry organisation and their role working with businesses of all sizes to connect with key visitor segments How you can ensure you are business ready and on the tourism radar What the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (ATDW) is and how taking part can amplify your reach across Australia and provide SEO benefits All Hobsons Bay business attendees will also be eligible for a subsidised ATDW listing of only $145 instead of $295 ex gst. Date: Wednesday 12 September |
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| #StartWest Launch | |
On Wednesday 25 July, The SUBSTATION was abuzz with the launch of #StartWest. More than 150 attendees from across Melbourne’s west came together from four municipalities to hear about the startup program funded by LaunchVic. LaunchVic CEO Dr Kate Cornick opened the night which saw a fireside chat panel facilitated by Mark Corrie (Western Bace) and included Ambika Sharma (Google), Michelle Mannering (MishManners) and Phil Ore (Marketing Entourage). A focus of the program is to encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing and the attendees embraced this concept, scanning and connecting via the #StartWest app. #StartWest meetups will be happening across Melbourne's west on the last Wednesday of the month. We hope to see all start-ups engaging in this fantastic new program. After a successful launch, the next meetup will be on Wednesday 29 August at The Park Hotel in Werribee. For more information, or to register, please click here. |
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This section takes a closer look at our local business heroes. |
| 2017 Hobsons Bay Business Excellence Awards Winner - Manufacturing & Industrial (Small-Medium) | |
For over 20 years East Coast Generators (ECG) has been operating in the specialised field of power generation. By incorporating General Rental Australia into their fold, they are now Australia's leading specialists in generator hire in Melbourne. Generators are sold and serviced through the East Coast Generators brand, while the Generator Rentals Australia arm supplies hire generators, a 24-hour every day service. The rental fleet is constantly upgraded with the latest technology. Hire manager Shawn Hodgetts says that "East Coast's power generation solutions have been applied to numerous world-class events in the past [years] in Melbourne. These include the Australian Open, Bruce Springsteen@Hanging Rock, Moomba, Phillip Island World Superbikes - and that's to name a few". JUDGES' COMMENTS: ECG is a family-owned business that has been around for 25 years. What has set this business apart is their forward-thinking approach to sustainability and adoption of technological solutions - innovation in action. They currently employ 17 staff, have embraced the digital era and are always looking for ways to gain efficiencies within the business. They are currently looking to implement a new software system." |
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| Start your business the right way! |
Starting your own business is exciting, but it can be challenging if you’re not prepared. That's why business.gov.au have developed a new guide to help start your business the right way. The new Starting a business guide is designed to take you through each step of starting a business and help you understand the process for starting a business in Australia. Starting a business guide will help you:
For more information click here. |
| Claiming GST credits | |
Knowing what you can claim as a GST credit can sometimes seem confusing. Here are five things you can do to get your claim right: 1. Claim within the time limit For more information, click here. |
| Destination Melbourne Image Library |
Is your tourism/ hospitality business in the Destination Melbourne image bank? By providing Destination Melbourne with your most recent images, you can take advantage of the reach of their marketing activities, and the valuable opportunity this brings to show visitors your offering (and all customers). Improve your chance of editorial mentions in the Destination Melbourne e-newsletters, social media and publications by providing them with current, high resolution images for their image bank. Using appealing imagery is the best way to showcase our great destination of Hobsons Bay and the businesses within it, to visitors. This helps to maintain our competitive edge as a destination of choice. Editorial expressions of interest are welcome year-round, and are always best accompanied by images. Therefore, images for our photo library are accepted throughout the year too. Please send high-resolution imagery, no smaller than 1MB in size, and any video, to marketing@destination.melbourne. Files larger than 7MB should be sent via Dropbox, Hightail or WeTransfer. |
| Expression Of Interest: 2019 Business Breakfast |
The annual Hobsons Bay business breakfast will be happening in March 2019 and we are seeking Expressions of Interest with likely parties to make this a success. If you would like more information, please email business@hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au. Submissions close COB Friday 25 August. |
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| Grants and assistance programs currently open |
- Australian Apprenticeships Incentives Program, open |
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| For Sale or Lease | |
21 and 23 Sargood Street, Altona - For Sale 46-48 Aylesbury Drive, Altona - For Sale 23 Vernon Street, South Kingsville - For Sale 174-178 Millers Road, Altona North - For Lease 32 Ferguson Street, Williamstown - For Lease Through its Economic Development team, Council takes a proactive approach to attracting and facilitating investment across the municipality. This includes assisting with site identification and selection. If you are looking for a commercial or industrial site in Hobsons Bay or to submit a business or commercial premises for inclusion in e-Works, please email business@hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au.
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| Making your business plastic-free |
Following on from Plastic Free July, read how two business owners opened a restaurant in 2010 and did everything they could "to lighten [their] footprint environmentally as much as possible". See how they did it here. Tips for your business/office:
If you would like to speak with a Sustainability Officer from Council and explore areas of how they can help, please call Callan Riley on 9932 1298. |
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| Draft Newport Structure Plan | |
The Draft Newport Structure Plan seeks to ensure new development reinforces the village scale and heritage; supports economic growth through improved streetscapes, local parks and open space; and improved accessibility. Presented to Council on 10 July 2018, Council is now seeking community feedback on the draft Newport Structure Plan until 24 August 2018. You can view the full draft structure plan online and complete an online survey by clicking here. |
| MyVictoria website |
The State Government has now launched a new website to help small to medium sized business owners. The http://www.myvictoria.vic.gov.au website is a free and easy to use service to help business owners make decisions about where to start up a business. MyVictoria includes 50 previously untapped sets of data that traditionally existed independently of one another into a single place, so Victorians no longer have to search through multiple websites for the information they need. Users can simply type in a postcode and have instant access to maps, graphs and charts of local information for whatever they need – whether it be moving home, planning to build a new home, starting a new business, or seeking to expand an existing one. For more information or to try out MyVictoria for yourself, click here. |
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