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Coffs Coast Business News - August 2024
Each month, the City of Coffs Harbour's Economic Development & Tourism Team collates information for all businesses, large and small, across the Coffs Coast - helping you stay informed, keep connected, and feel supported.
We hope you find the newsletter valuable - please feel free to forward it to colleagues and your team. They can also subscribe to receive a copy directly.
IN THIS ISSUE:
Have your say: City of Coffs Harbour Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy
Business events and training
- How to use your phone to make content - Tuesday 13 August
- Coffs Coast Business Women's Network Cocktail & Connect - Wednesday 14 August
- Business Professional Women Coffs Coast Equal Pay Day - Monday 19 August
- Accommodation Revenue and Yield Management Workshop - Wednesday 28 August
- Pitchfest: 2024 Regional Innovation Program - Thursday 29 August
- LinkedInLocal: What's stunting your growth in business? - Friday 30 August
Online Webinars Leveraging AI for business growth - Thursday 8 August
Keeping your team motivated and engaged - Wednesday 14 August
DNSW Choose Tourism: Professional development program - Wednesday 21 August
Smarter finance: Cashflow is king - Tuesday 27 August
Proven strategies for successful sales - Thursday 5 September
Local news and opportunities
- Destination Coffs Coast - Marketing Update
- North Coast Tourism Awards
- City of Coffs Harbour Open Day
- Business NSW Conditions Survey
Grant funding and business support
- Coffs Harbour Grant Finder
NewAccess for Small Business Owners
SafeWork NSW - Small Business Rebate
- National Sustainability Framework and Toolkit for the Visitor Economy
What's On Coffs Coast and major event calendar
HAVE YOUR SAY: CITY OF COFFS HARBOUR WASTE AND RESOURCE RECOVERY STRATEGY
The City of Coffs Harbour is crafting a new Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy, and we need your insights to make it as effective and inclusive as possible.
There is a specific survey and workshop for Coffs Coast Businesses to explore current challenges, opportunities to reduce landfill waste, and how the City of Coffs Harbour can enhance support for our community.
Why Your Input Matters:
- Share Your Experiences: Discuss your current management practices.
- Collaborate on Solutions: Work together on ideas to reduce landfill waste.
- Enhance Recycling: Suggest improvements for recycling and resource recovery.
LOCAL BUSINESS EVENTS
How to use your phone to make content
Elevate your mobile content game with insider tips and tricks for content creation using your smartphone.
Tuesday 13 August,
9.30am - 11.30am
Business@Yarrila, 27 Gordon St, Coffs Harbour
BWN Cocktail & Connect
Join the Coffs Coast BWN for a cocktail or mocktail and connect with other women in business.
Wednesday 14 August,
5.30pm - 7.30pm
King Tide Brewery, 1 Studio Lane, Coffs Harbour
BPW Equal Pay Day
BPW Coffs Coast and The Big Banana are spotlighting the Gender Pay Gap with a highlight on urgent action.
Monday 19 August,
From 5.30pm. Cost $35.
Big Banana Fun Park, 351 Pacific Highway
Accommodation Revenue and Yield Management Workshop
This FREE Workshop will be aimed at accommodation owners and managers, accommodation senior leaders and front of house staff and anyone involved in pricing and rate setting.
Subjects covered will include:
- Understanding the Guest's Pathway to Booking
- Advanced Market Segmentation & Distribution Strategies
- Revenue Strategy and Profit Optimisation
- Forecasting, Inventory Management, and Performance Monitoring
Wednesday 28 August, 9.00am - 11.30am
The Link Pavillion, 631 Hogbin Drive, Toormina
Pitchfest - 2024 Regional Innovation Program
The RIP Accelerator has supported 7 local innovators from Coffs Harbour to Taree including a mix of innovations from Tech & Software to Medical Device & Pet Hardware. Participants we’re involved in a 2-day Intensive & 10-week virtual program to bring their Innovation Action Plans to fruition.
If you enjoy Dragons Den or Shark Tank, be sure to come along to see the live Pitchfest.
Thursday 29 August, 5.30pm - 7.30pm
Yarrila Place, 27 Gordon Street, Coffs Harbour
LinkedInLocal: What's stunting your growth in business?
LinkedInLocal is all about getting to know the people behind the LinkedIn profiles, however, having a LinkedIn profile is considered optional.
Joining this month's event is Sarah Eifermann and Hunter Leonard to discuss what might be stunting your growth in business.
Morning tea will be provided, BYO coffee.
Friday 30 August, 10.00am - 12.00pm
The Vin Natural Wines, Unit 2/4 Forge Drive, North Boambee Valley
ONLINE TRAINING
Leveraging AI for business growth
Explore the transformative potential of AI in content creation while gaining foundational knowledge in AI basics. Discover the art of crafting audience-specific messaging, enhancing your marketing effectiveness. By the end of this session, you'll leave with a clear understanding of AI's marketing value, ready to take the initial steps in implementing AI-powered strategies.
Thursday 8 August: 1.00pm - 3.00pm
Keeping your team motivated and engaged
One of the most cost-effective outcomes for a business is to retain good staff and not be constantly recruiting new staff. In order to retain staff, you must understand what motivates staff to stay in a job. in this webinar we will share what factors truly motivate employees to stay, and how you can improve employee retention.
Wednesday 14 August: 1.00pm - 2.00pm
DNSW Choose Tourism: Professional development program
Being an employer of choice helps put your business ahead of others when recruiting and retaining staff.
The NSW Choose Tourism Program is holding a webinar to update visitor economy business on the latest techniques for attracting and retaining quality staff.
Wednesday 21 August: 9.30am - 11.30am
Smarter finance: Cashflow is king
The research is very clear - the more frequently a business owner reviews accurate financial reports and makes informed decisions the more likely the business is to succeed. Staying the distance whilst you start up and grow your small business enterprise is all about understanding, strategically managing, and preserving your greatest asset - your cash.
Tuesday 27 August: 1.00pm - 2.00pm
Proven strategies for successful sales
To succeed in the current business world, we absolutely need to know some 'old school' sales fundamentals. Join us in this refreshing online session to learn the techniques so that you can not only survive, but also thrive.
Hosted by local business advisor Sarah McPhail from SJA Consultants
Thursday 5 September: 10.30am - 12.00pm
LOCAL NEWS & OPPORTUNITIES
DESTINATION COFFS COAST - MARKETING UPDATE
Check out this monthly snapshot of Destination Coffs Coast's current and upcoming marketing activities, campaigns, and news stories. These are created and managed by our team, in collaboration with local businesses and partners including Coffs Harbour Airport. Here's what's happening:
- Better Homes & Gardens TV episode featuring three Coffs Coast stories will be aired nationally late in October and early in November.
- The latest QANTAS in-flight magazine features a double-page ad for the Coffs Coast. Check it out here!
- Coffs Coast Blog: Explore the Botanic Garden Interactive Trail with the Coffs Coast Explorer App
- Australian Traveller: Everything to do at The Big Banana in honour of its 60th anniversary
- Rex TrulyAus: 8 must-try restaurants in Coffs Harbour for a superb bite to eat
ALL COFFS COAST BUSINESSES are invited to share these campaigns in their business marketing. This is a great way to bring people from out of the area to your business - and the content is already created for you!
Congratulations to the Coffs Coast winners and finalists from the North Coast Tourism Awards which were announced on Thursday!
- Tiga Cross (Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary) - Gold, Outstanding Young Tourism Business Leader
- Coffs Harbour Trike & Private Tours - Gold, Tour and Transport Operator of the Year
- The Big Banana Fun Park - Gold, Tourism Attraction of the Year
- Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary - Silver, Tourism Attraction of the Year
- Giingan Gumbaynggirr Cultural Experience - Silver, Excellence in Cultural Tourism
- Pacific Bay Resort - Bronze, Event Venue of the Year
- Shearwater Restaurant - Bronze, Excellence in Food Tourism
Plus Coffs Coast finalists:
- Coffs Coast Tickets by Paradox Media
- Gumbaynggirr ECO immersive stand up paddle tours
- Lindsay Russell – Broken Open Productions
- The Hoey Moey
- Yarrawarra Aboriginal Cultural Centre
- Yarrila Arts and Museum (YAM)
City of Coffs Harbour Open Day
The whole community is invited to the first ever Open Day! See the diversity and variety of services provided by the City of Coffs Harbour.
Entry to the Open Day is FREE, and food and refreshments will be available for purchase.
Sunday 11 August. 10am - 2pm.
Business NSW Survey
The latest Business Conditions survey is now open. This survey is critical for Business NSW to understand what is happening across the Coffs Coast and most importantly to report these findings to the State government.
If you can please spare 5 minutes to reflect on your business challenges and prospects, Business NSW will use your insights to advocate for your needs.
GRANT FUNDING & BUSINESS SUPPORT
COFFS HARBOUR GRANT FINDER
The City of Coffs Harbour provides a free service for locals to find grants and grant writing tips. Register to be notified of specific grants for your business or organisation.
NewAccess for Small Business Owners
Beyond Blue’s NewAccess for Small Business Owners (NASBO) is a guided self-help mental health coaching program. It’s free, confidential and convenient. Available nationally by phone or video call, no GP referral is required.
Over 6 sessions, your mental health coach will work with you to manage stress and overwhelm using straightforward problem-solving approaches.
All mental health coaches are specially trained and have a small business background so they understand your unique challenges.
SafeWork NSW - Small Business Rebate
This program aims to support small business owners in NSW to purchase safety items (up to $1,000) to improve work health and safety.
Categories for eligible items include:
- Slips, trips and falls
- Being hit by moving objects or isolated at work
- Heavy lifting, carrying or doing the same task often
- Moving machinery, plant or vehicles
- Hazardous noise, chemicals and sun exposure
NATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY FRAMEWORK AND TOOLKIT FOR VISITOR ECONOMY BUSINESSES
Over the last six months, we have covered the National Sustainability Framework and Sustainable Tourism Toolkit by introducing the four pillars of sustainability, as well as covering the ins and outs of promoting your sustainability story and what it means to back up your claims.
This concludes the monthly dissemination of these two documents. In case you missed, previous editions of the Coffs Coast Business News can be found here.
No matter where you are on your sustainability journey, by continuing to make changes to your business for the good of the planet and people around you, you can:
- improve profitability and reduce costs
- form new partnerships with local communities and suppliers
- build your reputation and stay competitive
- appeal to new customers
- attract and retain employees
- reduce your carbon footprint
- adapt to climate change.
It's fine if your sustainability journey looks different to that of other businesses. What matters most is that you start now and keep going. A sustainability action plan helps you figure out what to do and stay on track. You can download a free template here.
WHAT'S ON @ COFFS COAST
Fashion Warehouse Sale - Coffs City Centre
8 August
Bellingen Community Markets
17 August
Top Dog Film Festival
17 August
Made with Love Markets
25 August
Please reach out to our team at City of Coffs Harbour if you have any questions.
Check out our 6 degrees business support website for business events and resources.
For tourism industry and visitor economy business support and information, go to our Coffs Coast tourism industry hub.
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