Business Grants opening next month! 

Offering between $5,000 and $20,000 in grants per business with up to $150,000 available, your business could get the kick start it needs to thrive here in Frankston City!  The 2024-2025 round of Frankston City Business Grants open 2 September, 2024 and close 13 September!  
The grants are designed to help you take the next step to expand your business, grow from a home-based business to a bricks-and-mortar commercial property or relocate your business to Frankston City from another location. Since its inception the program  has helped 88 Frankston City small businesses and invested $1.26 million  helping to create economic growth and employment. 
Visit our website, to read the guidelines, watch the instructional video about the grants and check your eligibility today! 
Pic: 2023-24 grant recipient Thread Traders. 

Young Street Action Plan

In a major milestone for the ongoing revitalisation of Frankston’s city centre, Frankston City Council will implement a long-term, transformational action plan for one of the key CBD entry points; Young Street. Councillors voted to adopt the Young Street Action Plan at the 12 August Council Meeting, noting it followed extensive community feedback. The Action Plan outlines initiatives across six key pillars including working with businesses, safety in the community, street presentation, development and activation, city connectivity and space and community health and wellbeing.
The plan will be updated as initiatives are introduced and completed and Council will receive regular updates on progress. To download a copy of the plan click the button below. 

Business Directory 

Our new Frankston City Business Directory now has more than 80 local businesses listed! Well done to those businesses who have used the FREE directory as a way to promote their business to the wider community! 
Whether you are looking to book a local business, trade or service or you are a business keen to get listed for FREE, this directory is what you need to shop and sell local. Designed to help support, connect and promote local businesses within the Frankston City municipality, the directory is a trusted source for residents and other businesses to find local trades, retailers, services and home-based businesses. It will also help strengthen our economy, keep dollars local and provide free advertising for our hard-working Frankston City businesses. 
Pic: Frankston Brewhouse 

Is your business ready to be environmentally savvy? 

Do you want to turn your business waste into a resource? Reduce your waste disposal and costs, create new supply chains and generate new income for your business with the new ASPIRE program! We've covered the registration to this awesome platform for you, so that you can simply join, sell your unwanted materials and product or buy someone else's! The Advisory Stream for Process Innovation and Resource Exchange (ASPIRE) is an online marketplace for businesses wanting to buy, sell or trade unwanted materials and product. ASPIRE allows businesses (with 20 employees or less) to have unlimited resource listings and is actively trading a wide range of items for reuse and recycling including items such as soil, plants, and grass, paper, cardboard, and equipment, metals, fabrics, plastic, glass and more. This fantastic program not only helps you make money off unwanted goods, it also helps other businesses and the environment! You can learn more at an upcoming FREE event being held at the Frankston Social Enterprise Hub on 11 September, so save the date! 

Bayside Jobs Fair 

The very popular Bayside Jobs Fair is back and Vicinity is looking for more businesses to get involved! If you are looking for staff 
Date: Thursday 29 August, 2024
Time: 3pm - 7pm
Location: Level 2 Bayside Centre
The event, held in the newly upgraded office spaces on level 2 at Bayside Shopping Centre, showcases employment opportunities both at the centre and throughout Frankston City and the Mornington Peninsula so if you are looking to connect with jobseekers, primarily young jobseekers entering the workforce, this is the event for you! Hosted in collaboration with retailers, small businesses, learning institutes and Frankston City Council, the Bayside Jobs Fair aims to build the future workforce by streamlining the interview process allowing employers to recruit on the spot and for multiple positions. The event is free to participate. 

Business Grants informative video up now

In case you missed the information sessions about our up-coming grants, don't worry we've prepared an informative video to help guide you through understanding the grants, the criteria and eligibility and the application process via SmartyGrants. Join our amazing Grants Officer as she takes you through everything you need to know before applying for this round of Frankston City Business Grants.  You can also email us at business@frankston.vic.gov.au if you have any questions now or while applying. Stage 1 applications are open 8am, 2 September and close 5pm, 13 September, 2024. We recommends you watch the video, read the guidelines and start sourcing your quotes as soon as possible to have everything ready for when the application period is open. Quotes will not be required in Stage 1, but will be necessary if eligible for Stage 2. 

Future Frankston Forum 

With robust housing targets, accelerated visitor numbers driving unprecedented demand for hotel accommodation, and increased popularity amongst empty-nesters for coastal retirement living, Frankston City has been welcoming more and more savvy developers looking to capitalise on the new wave of opportunities.
In partnership with the Property Council Australia, Frankston City Council is hosting the 'Future Frankston' Forum on 30th August at the Frankston Arts Centre.
Join us and a host of industry experts to analyse the local market outlook and hear about new innovations in activating development in this as-yet unsaturated Metropolitan Activity Centre. Book your tickets now! 

Franchise Expo 

Have you thought about owning a franchise in Frankston City? With a lower risk, existing brand, proven business model, training and assistance, purchasing power, financing choices, and potential for expansion, this could be your opportunity for new investment. In Frankston City there are lots of successful franchises such as YOMG, Mitre 10, Baker’s Delight, Just Cuts, Pack & Send, Soul Origin, Henry’s Mercato, Roll’d, Grill’d, Boost Juice, Mad Mex, Quest and many more! But there are still opportunities for more to help bring people to the area and increase economic growth here! Frankston City is growing so if you’re thinking of taking the next step and exploring a franchise come and see us at the Franchising & Business Opportunities Expo at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre this weekend or drop us a line. We can help you find the perfect location for your new venture right here. While we love supporting small businesses here, franchises play an important role too, helping to boost the economy, increase local spend, provide local jobs and attract visitors to the area. 

Annual Business Survey 

Council’s annual business survey is coming soon! You can go into the draw to win one of two $500 vouchers to spend with a local business (conditions apply) just by providing your feedback to us!! Open to all Frankston City business owners and operators, whether home-based, industrial or a bricks-and-mortar, the survey helps Council to understand the key development opportunities facing Frankston City businesses. It will assist Council to ensure the programs, services and supports it provides are relevant and reflect the needs of the local business community. Survey will be opening on 2 September - 30 September and will be emailed out to businesses and available on our website. 

Women in Business 

The Frankston Business Collective's Women In Business event is on again, this time promising to be an exciting opportunity for attendees to gain valuable insights from two incredible and inspirational women from the business world.
Date:  Tuesday 20th August
Time:  8.30am to 10.30am
Cost:  Members $15/ Non Members $50
Included:  Morning Tea & Coffee
Venue:  McClelland Sculpture & Art Gallery
Hear from CEO Mornington Peninsula Magazine, Lisa Walton, who has more than 40 years of experience in print media, and owner of local Frankston company Gloform Solar and Electrics Joyie Wood, who quickly went from knowing nothing about electrics to running an electrical company in a male-dominated industry. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn from two amazing speakers and connect with other like-minded women in business.

Business Mentor Panel 

Frankston City Council is pleased to announce we have added six new panel members as part of our 2024/25 Business Mentor Program. 
The new members offer a plethora of skills and experience such as in start-ups, strategic planning, social media, branding, finances, hospitality and women in leadership in a range of industries. The panel now has 14 experienced business mentors, who are keen to give back to the business community and help your business grow and thrive right here in Frankston City. Thanks to all who applied to be part of the program. If you have a business in Frankston City, you can access two free one-hour sessions with one of our mentors and gain a wealth of knowledge and expertise as part of the program to help your business grow.  Contact us now to access this fantastic FREE program. 

Young Street news 

Young Street has welcomed two new temporary pop-ups as part of the Young Street Shopfront Activation Program. Welcome to number 6 Young St - Curated Archives - a vintage clothing store offering carefully chosen, quality, second-hand clothing, previously located in South Yarra. Welcome also to Blaze and Foam at 138 Young Street, who sell high quality, hand crafted candles and soaps that are vegan, palm oil-free, and phthalate-free. They also have candle and soap-making supplies and kits. As well as facilitating candle and soap making workshops. The Young Street Vacant Shop Activation Program was designed to help introduce some new businesses to the commercial properties to test their concept via a short term and entry-level leasing arrangement. 

In other news; 

Lisa's Lacies milestone: Lisa's Lacies in Seaford are celebrating having made and sold their one millionth pair of briefs! The team created a six 6m giant pair of knickers to celebrate! Congratulations Lisa's Lacies! 
Franchise Opportunity: X-Golf, Australia's leading indoor golf stimulator, is keen to expand to Frankston City and is looking for a franchisee to help them bring it here! If you're interested get in touch with X-Golf today and chat to us about locations here! 
The Start-Up Network Pitch Night: The Startup Network's Pitch Night is your chance to share your startup with the Australian startup community of industry leaders, entrepreneurs, corporate innovators, and startup investors as well as a panel of judges. 
EOI for judging panel for Citizen of the Year Awards:  Council is seeking expressions of interest from local residents or business operators to join the independent selection panel for the 2025 Frankston City Citizen of the Year Awards. EOI submissions close 1 September. 

FAC office catering?

How would you like to go into the draw to win a double pass to Daryl Braithwaite live in concert? All you need to do is give the Frankston Arts Centre your feedback and you can enter the draw!  Have you ever experienced FAC's catering onsite in one of their function or meeting rooms? Well guess what? FAC are now exploring whether to bring their catering to you in the office! The awesome team at FAC would love to know if this is something you'd find useful and would consider using for your office meetings and events. As a token of their appreciation, all survey participants will be entered into a draw for a chance to win a Double Pass to Daryl Braithwaite In Concert at Frankston Arts Centre, valued at $158! Please take a moment to complete the survey and share your thoughts.

Career Insights Q&A 

We recently attended Mt Erin College to host another Career Insights Q&A with Year 11 Business Management students and local business owners!  We brought with us five Frankston City business owners panellists, who were then asked questions about how they manage their successful businesses, the difficulties they encounter along the way, why they started and what they love about owning a business today. Frankston City Mayor Nathan Conroy also attended to meet the students and talk about his role in Council and the work Council is doing to make Frankston City the most liveable and vibrant city it can be for the future. Thank you to Terence Toh from Strategiq Business Growth, Ashleigh Alsadie from The PromoDonna, Bernadine Geary from Sk8House, Ash Marton from Ash Marton Realty and Elizabeth McDonald from NetfocusIT for volunteering their time and sharing their wisdom on the panel. Next up we are off to Woodleigh School and David Scott School! 

FMP Industry & Job Expo

Are you looking for staff? A reminder that the Frankston Mornington Peninsula Local Learning Network (FMPLLEN) is hosting the FMP Industry and Job Expo on 20 August at Mornington Racecourse.  The jobs expo is open to jobseekers and is the ideal event to link local people to local jobs in the Frankston and Mornington Peninsula region.  Attendees will have the chance to engage directly with industry professionals and employers, eliminating the impersonal nature of online recruitment. This event provides a valuable platform for employers to interact with potential candidates, cultivate skills and forge meaningful connections within our community. Want to get involved? Reach out to FMPLLEN today.