Business Connect success stories

Hi, my name is Cheree Stokes.
I'm the owner of the Ngurambang Birrang Art Gallery here in Trundle, Central New South Wales.
I'm a proud Aboriginal woman and I come from a background of the ‘Stolen Generation’.
I sell my own Aboriginal Artworks and those of my grandchildren.
I run art classes for children and adults and I run workshops.
People connect with my art on a very spiritual level even if they didn't consider themselves spiritual when they walk through the door.
My local Business Connect advisor first reached out to me after I had attended a virtual training session, and let me know he was with Business Connect and did I need help?
Which of course I did.
The support he provided has been ongoing and began with him coordinating my training with an accountant, which IBA funded for me.
He's currently helping me to organize plan the business. Lindsay was instrumental in connecting me with other government support, including ATO, IBA and ServiceNSW.
He also has connections within the region and he's recommended me to other galleries and made suggestions for opportunities that have helped me in this journey
when I've encountered disruptions along the way.
Without this support I really don't think my business would be growing at the rate it is.
I would advise any new business owners or people looking to start their own business to get onto Business Connect right from the start.
If I was able to start this journey over I'd definitely be finding my local Business Connect people right from the starting.

My name is Matthew Higham.
I'm a co-founder and CEO of Croppa Co. We've got a product called Farm Simple.
Started out in Croppa Creek, just north of Moree in New South Wales.
Farm Simple is an app which allows you to monitor all the activities going on in your farm from spreading to spraying, planting, harvest, any product maintenance.
It also allows you to track your inventory, whether be fuel, grain, fertilizer or chemicals.
It also helps with your employee time sheets.
I found out about Business Connect at a local networking event. And soon afterwards there was an opportunity to meet an advisor in Moree.
So the reason I contacted Business Connect is, it was very early in the business and I wasn't sure if it was something that I should be pursuing, or it was just a hobby at the time.
It was good just to bounce some ideas, and do some analysis on, if this thing had legs.
The main issue we're having being a software engineer, was the sales and marketing. Getting out there, talking to people and being able to sell your product and yourself.
My Business Connect advisor, really helped with pulling together a bit of a sales plan, setting yourself targets,
making sure we hit those targets and really just boosting, what was a weakness in my business, which was a bit of self-confidence, and being able to close deals and cold-call people.
I definitely got a lot of value out of being in the Business Connect program.
So if you're a small business, that has a weakness that you know about, or you want a bit of advice,or if you don't even have a business yet, but you've got a bit of an idea and want to talk to someone about how to go about building a company. Get in touch with Business Connect.

Hi, my name is Brendan Williams, Bundjalung Githabul tribe far north coast of New South Wales.
I work for the BY, I'm one of the directors here. We started this company in 2014.
MALCOLM DEVIN: The essence of our business is we're an indigenous construction company.
Our clients are primarily government and corporate clients.
We're delivering projects safely, on time, and on budget to those clients.
BRENDAN WILLIAMS: Why we started this company was just give young Indigenous kids an opportunity in the construction industry. It's 'cause I grew up in Redfern down the block and really didn't really have many opportunities.
So with the help of Business Connect hopefully we can move forward and give these young kids an opportunity in life.
MALCOLM DEVIN: Thanks to the assistance of Business Connect, we've managed to grow our business and maintain a good pipeline of work with those clients.

I'm Sonia Rattey and I own Connect Me Counseling and Disability Supports.

We've been running here in the Riverina since April 2019, first of all, as a counseling service, and then we expanded into disability supports. Our clients range from about 12 to 65 and we supply supports around daily living skills, social and community participation. We also offer respite, counselling, and outings and trips away.

I contacted Business Connect as a friend of mine had used this service for her hairdressing business.

The main reason for contacting them initially was to just get a bit of an idea on how these types of services were being set up in the local area. Also to talk about some of the legal framework around providing NDIS services but also to gain a little bit of confidence in moving forward to opening a business.

I think the best piece of advice that we got from our Business Connect advisor was in changing how our business was set up. Being a sole trader it actually excluded us from some of the government grants and other things that we could access as a company. So she actually took us through the process of setting up as a company, gave us a lot of great information and linked us in with an accountant that's made that transformation happen and we've been able to grow our business because of that.

Also to setting up a social media networking group which means all of the small businesses stay connected.
My advice to any business, particularly in a rural area, is pick up the phone and call Business Connect. You get to talk to a real person that sits behind a real desk that you can talk to anytime you need that advice.

Business Connect has helped us grow our business to where it is today.

My name is Renee Lindley.

I am the owner-operator of Wren Store and Styling in Gundagai.

My store is designed for women of all ages. We are a clothing and accessories store. We also offer personal styling sessions and workshops for women who just want to learn more about looking and feeling their best.

I found out about Business Connect through the local business advisor who actually came and met with me. And given the current economic climate, we were able to come up with a way in which I could continue my business, both in store and through my digital platforms.

I was able to tap into their webinar series, specifically focusing on social media and also my online presence. The support that they gave me enabled me to develop my own Instagram videos, which I could showcase my new products and also showcase my personal styling services. This also led to encouraging me to build my own website. So I was able to maintain contact with my current customers as well as broaden my customer base during this time.

The advice I would give to other small businesses is to utilize the services that are available in your area, such as those provided by Business Connect. Whilst I had to close my store for a small period of time, I was still able to maintain a business-as-usual approach, thanks to Business Connect.

My name is Kylie Cullinan, and I'm the Director of Sycamore Lane.

I've been running Sycamore Lane since 2013, and we work with women who are in disempowering situations through life coaching to help them find a way forward and find a place of empowerment and being able to reach their goals.

I found out about Business Connect through an advertisement on Facebook, through a local organization that there was a session available in my community and I did an initial session and decided that the Business Connect advisor would be really useful in helping me to take my organization from more of a side hustle to a more strategic and well organized group.

My Business Connect advisor supported my business by helping me in the areas that I was weak.

I work in people helping professions and I know how to support people, but I didn't know very much about business, about marketing, about strategic planning, about grant writing and my Business Connect advisor helped me build those skills so that now I have been successful in receiving a grant from the Bega Valley Council to support fire affected women.

I would say don't go it alone. Running a small business is both a joy and a struggle and there is really great support available through Business Connect, to work through the struggles, build your skills, and to be able to not only have a successful business, but to enjoy the process.

I'm Salma Yassien. I'm owner  and founder of the Herbistry, a woman-owned small business located  in Kellyville Ridge, New South Wales that was established in 2018. 

The Herbistry  is a natural therapies company that focuses on empowering people with the tools they need to improve their health. We do this through offering a consultation service and we also offer a  product range that focuses on clean living. 

Starting a business wasn't very easy for  me. I came from a very academic background and a therapeutic background. So I have the passion and the drive, but I don't have the biz whiz know-how.  So I approached the Blacktown Council and the Hills Shire Council, and  they referred me to Business Connect. 

My local Business Connect advisor really  helped put things into perspective for me. And she was amazing. She really helped  me get very clear with what I was doing, the people that I needed to connect  with and how to connect with them. 

For new and existing business owners I do recommend Business Connect program. They're very hands-on. They have a lot of support in a lot of different areas in which will make a business run and succeed.

Hi, my name is Sidd from Nutrition Station,  Liverpool. Our business is about healthy food.  

I took this challenge three years ago, how  to present the healthy food to the community.  

Our main customer is people going to the gym and growing kids as well, and people who are really conscious about their health and mind.

Since the end of 2019, our business was slowing down, then I found Business Connect, which is locally here. One of the consultants, she gave me lots of advice. It was really, really helpful for me. Make me more confident. And she gave me lots of link as well, to get some help from the Government, so Government really support me lots as well and that helped me financially, also mentally. It  keeps me growing the business and go further.

The Business Connect, I found they are very professional and they are to the point. And I believe this helped really lots, so anybody struggling with the business, that will help you. And my advice would  be to any business, keep your confidence always positive, always positive, and you will get there.