Inverell Shire Council – Energise Enterprise – Small business workshops
Background
In late 2016, Council secured a grant from the Murray Darling Basin Regional Economic Diversification ‘Energise Enterprise’ Programme to up-skill small business owners in Inverell LGA.
This enabled Council to host four workshops for small business, with topics selected by Inverell Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Implementation
The focus of the project was to assist business owners to adopt innovative and market-leading techniques.
The following trainers and consultants were engaged to deliver the workshops:
- Martin Grunstein – customer service specialist;
- Carol Bagaric – visual merchandising consultant; and
- Louise Scott – social media consultant and online marketing specialist, Go Social.
To maximise attendance, events were scheduled across evening, breakfast and twilight periods.
Outputs
The project involved a total of 71 businesses, including retailers from across the Inverell CBD, as well as numerous home-based businesses and start-ups from an array of industries.
Participants were largely Inverell-based (92%), however also included attendees from Glen Innes, Bingara, Tenterfield and Yetman.
Outcomes and results
The workshops received a large volume of positive feedback from participants, including that they were high quality, relevant, generated networks, value for money, provided fresh insight for business owners and brought valuable training opportunities to our doorstep.
Council Details
Population size: 16,483
LGA size: 8,606 km2
State Electorate: Northern Tablelands
Federal Electorate: New England