Coffs Coast Business News - October 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:

Business events and training

• Effectively supervising your apprentice or trainee Workshop - Tuesday 15 October
• BWN Coffee & Connect - Wednesday 23 October
• Creating winning in-store experiences - Tuesday 29 October
  
  NORTEC Free Online Training

• Understanding your financial reporting - Thursday 10 October

• Clever ways to increase online sales - Thursday 17 October

• 5-steps to social media marketing success - Thursday 24 October

Local news and opportunities

• Destination Coffs Coast - Marketing Update
• Link Airways inflight magazine
• Hinterland, Harbour, Home - Spring edition
• Business NSW Mid North Coast Business Awards
• Coffs Coast Business Awards

Grant funding and business support

• Coffs Harbour Grant Finder
• Small Business Debt Helpline

• Destination North Coast Cyber Security training

• Destination NSW training programs

• Electric Vehicle charger site host opportunities

What's On Coffs Coast and major event calendar

LOCAL BUSINESS EVENTS

Creating winning in-store experiences

Join us for a free business workshop led by Hunter Leonard from Blue Frog Marketing, focusing on strategies to enhance your summer and holiday sales.

This session will delve into creating positive in-store experiences that drive sales, alongside effective techniques in email marketing, customer communities, memberships, and loyalty programs. Learn how to forge strong human connections with your customers and leverage these strategies to gain an advantage over online retailers.

Tuesday 29 October, 5.00pm - 7.00pm, nibbles included
Coffs Central, Level 1 Food Court, 61 Harbour Drive, Coffs Harbour 

FREE ONLINE TRAINING with NORTEC

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:

Image: Better Homes and Gardens host Graham Ross, inspecting the oldest tree in the garden, the Pink Bloodwood (Corymbia intermedia) which is estimated to be over 500 years old with hollows for nesting bids and animals. 

• Sydney Weekender: Rerun featured on 29 September promoting the Coffs Coast  
• Coffs Coast Blog: Modern Guru and the Path to Artificial Happiness at Yarrila Arts & Museum
• Coffs Coast Blog: The Eco-accredited 'Swim with the Humpback Whales Tour'
• Coffs Coast Blog: Craft your adventure on the ultimate Coffs Coast Brewery & Distillery Tour

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!

Business NSW Mid North Coast Business Awards

Coffs Coast businesses and their staff were recognised at the recent Mid North Coast Business Awards. The region spans from Taree to Woolgoolga, and west to Dorrigo. Congratulations to all nominees and finalists, as well as the following Coffs Coast award recipients:

• Outstanding Employee: Alan Nye, The Physio Movement
• Employer of Choice - 21 Employees and Over: Key Community Group
• Outstanding Visitor Experience: The Big Banana Fun Park
• Excellence in Large Business and International Business: The Big Banana Fun Park

The above winners progress to the NSW State Business Awards held in Sydney at the end of the month. Congratulations!

Coffs Coast Business Awards

Nominate your own, or another local business in this year's Coffs Coast Business Awards, hosted by the Coffs Harbour Chamber of Commerce.

The Awards are a great way to showcase your business and gain some public recognition and awareness. There’s no charge to enter and the entry process is straight forward.

Any business with an ABN throughout the Coffs Coast can enter – including Coffs Harbour, Northern Beaches, Sawtell, Toormina, Bellingen, Dorrigo, Urunga and Nambucca. 

Categories include:

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.

Did you know that 43% of cyber attacks target small businesses? And that a single attack can cost you an average of $46,000?

To help protect you and your small tourism business, Destination North Coast is partnering with Cyber Wardens, a free online learning program designed to simplify cyber security. 

By taking the course, you will be taking the first step towards making your business cyber-safe, and you will learn to:

• Identify and protect your important business information
• Take simple and effective steps to defend against digital break-ins
• Spot common tricks and scams hackers use to attack small businesses
• Promote cyber safety in your team

Training programs to plug jobs gap in the visitor economy

TAFE NSW is partnering with Destination NSW to develop and deliver training programs jointly funded by the Federal Government’s NSW Choose Tourism Program.

The subsidised courses are designed to address industry workforce shortages by encouraging Australians to pursue a career in the visitor economy, helping operators attract, retain and upskill staff. 

The new training programs include an 'Introduction to the Visitor Economy' microskill course, five one-hour video masterclasses, and a modernised Certificate III in Tourism.

Opportunity to host public Electric Vehicle charger sites

Transport for NSW is investing $199 million in growing the EV charging network across the state and calling for regional businesses to register interest to host public electric vehicle (EV) chargers. These sites may then be considered by EV charging companies to install chargers in regional areas with Government co-funding. 

Did you know that NSW EV ownership increased by 83% over the previous financial year? Sites that provide convenient charging options in regional NSW are well-positioned to attract more customers, enhance tourism presence and stand out from the competition. EV drivers plan their trips around charging stops, using them as opportunities to rest, eat, or explore.

Minimal effort, maximum benefit
Many sites in regional NSW may hesitate to install an EV charger due to costs or complexity concerns. However, by registering interest to host a charger at their site, if selected, an EV charging company will manage the installation, operation and maintenance of the charger for them. All that’s needed is parking spaces and access. This setup allows you to offer a valuable service to attract EV drivers with minimal disruption to operations.

How it works
Businesses are encouraged to submit an obligation-free site host expression of interest form. The NSW Government may provide information collected to EV charging companies looking for locations to install chargers in regional NSW with the help of their funding.

WHAT'S ON @ COFFS COAST

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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