Do you want to realise the potential of your small business? 

Consider this ……. Tourists, come and go (and that is great!!) but locals are here to stay. The Love Local Moyne campaign is your opportunity to expose your business 365 days of the year to your own community. Local businesses supporting locals who support local businesses helps everyone to not just survive but to thrive! 

Our Love Local Moyne campaign strives to help local businesses bounce back from the impacts of the global pandemic by encouraging all of us in the region to shop, share and love our local businesses.

So tell your story to the residents of our great region and have it seen by thousands of potential customers.

Tell us about what’s new, what makes your business unique, any specials or promotions, anything that you think potential customers would love to hear. You can submit as many promotions as you like.

We’ll promote it across all our campaign channels, including our website, social media, print publications and radio – for FREE! Access the link here to find out more Promote to Locals and Grow Local Loyalty  

We’ve created a Small Business Moyne Facebook Community Group to offer a space for business owners to learn from one other, ask questions and build relationships. Love Local Together

8th March is International Women's Day. Do you know a woman who has personally inspired you or been an inspiration in our community? If so nominate her as your Inspiring Woman of Moyne! Let's all recognise her contribution to our great region. Click on this link to complete the Nomination Form Inspiring Women of Moyne 
Here's a bit of great news! The Team from What's Up Down Under visited Moyne Shire late last year and spent a couple of days visiting local sites and experiencing what our great Region has to offer! 

The show highlighting Moyne will be screened on Saturday 26 February at 3pm. If you miss this episode, it is repeated on Sunday 6 March at 4.30pm. Watch and feel proud!
The Rural Financial Counselling Service in partnership with Small Business Victoria is reaching out to Regional Victoria. The Business Bus will be parked outside of the Mortlake Library on 1st March between 10am - 4pm.  Book your free 45 mins session with a financial coach who will talk you through your needs and concerns and your plan of action!
Click on this link to book your place Book Your Session 

The Tourism Jobs Bank supports the industry through a professional recruitment service, to help you find suitable staff for Tourism and Hospitality businesses.

Operating out of Geelong, this recruitment service aims to match prospective employees with employers.

 

Why use the Tourism Jobs Bank?

The Tourism Jobs Bank is designed to support businesses in finding employees. We know it is time-consuming to post ads, review candidates, interview candidates and check references.  The Tourism Jobs Bank does the hard work for you.

How Does The Tourism Jobs Bank Work?

The Tourism Jobs Bank enables employers to list vacancies and candidates to register their interest. Direct Recruitment will then seek to match candidates to jobs. Candidates will be interviewed and short-listed  and you will be offered those that meet your requirements.

What is the Cost to a Participating Business?

Fees for staff recruitment are standard business practice when using recruitment agencies. The good news for tourism businesses is that the Victorian Government is subsidising these fees to businesses as part of the Tourism Jobs Bank program.

 

The program includes a digital and regional marketing campaign targeting tourism and hospitality businesses in need of staff and a wide range of job seekers interested in finding work in the region. Access more information HERE 

Victoria has a wealth of clean energy resources which are set to play a key role in meeting Victoria's future energy needs. Victoria's share of electricity generated went from 11 per cent in 2014 to 20 per cent in 2018.

This share will continue to grow in the coming years as Victoria achieves its statewide renewable energy targets, which will create substantial new opportunities for jobs and investment in Victoria’s renewable energy sector.

Victoria's Future Industries

The Victorian Government has identified six priority sectors that have potential for extraordinary economic growth and the capacity to create high-skill, high wage jobs: Victoria's Future Industries.

These include medical technologies and pharmaceuticals, new energy technologies, food and fibre, transport technologies, defence technologies, construction technologies, international education, professional services.

To learn more about the $20million fund and if you are eligible go to Future Industries - New Energy Technologies

The Government has established measures as part of the Renewable Energy Roadmap to facilitate the uptake of renewable energy by Victorian households and communities to support the transition to a clean energy future. Access this link to get more information on how Victoria is progressing Community Energy Projects


Closing date: ongoing 

The Victorian Government is partnering with the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) to deliver a mentoring program to help small businesses navigate the economic challenges posed by restrictions to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

Kickstart your business in 2022 with free business mentoring to help you navigate the economic challenges of the past two years. Through the Business Recovery and Resilience Mentoring program you’ll get four two-hour sessions with an industry professional for advice on business recovery, market transformation, digital engagement and more, tailored specifically to your business.

Apply now Business Recovery and Resilience Mentoring   

The Enabling Tourism Fund supports regional and rural Victorian tourism projects to reach investment ready status. It will do this by funding activities such as feasibility studies, master planning and business case development. This fund is part of Victorian Government’s plan to accelerate tourism investment and recovery.

The investment will support activities that increase the pipeline of investment ready tourism projects.  As a result of this fund, more projects will be able to leverage private investment, employ more people, and attract more visitors by offering world-class experiences.

The fund will focus on four growth sectors identified in the Visitor Economy Recovery and Reform Plan – nature, epicurean, arts and culture, and First Peoples’ led experiences.

The fund will deliver grants up to $500,000 per project, with a minimum funding amount of $20,000 per project.

Applications for the Enabling Tourism Fund will be accepted until 11:59pm, Friday 4 March 2022.

Click on this link to find out more Enabling Tourism Fund

The Edge Leadership Program has a unique delivery schedule, with 6 sessions spread out over a few months, followed by a requirement to attend several site tours and SIRF (Strategic Industry Research Foundation) events to expand the trainees horizons.

Participants not only learn from the course content and homework, but from senior leader presentations from participating companies and the peer-to-peer interaction with others from different positions in different companies attending the course.

Held on Thursdays, the six sessions are:

February 17th - Awareness and Understanding Others

March 10th - Structure, Planning, and Time Management

March 24th - Change Management

April 7th - Teamwork and Presentation Skills

May 5th - Courageous Conversations and Performance Management

June 2nd - Coaching and Final Presentations

Click on this link Leadership Program to book your place.

It is important for small businesses to take proactive steps to ensure they remain viable when the economy slows. CPA Australia offers the following tips;

  1. Reduce your reliance on external debt
    To reduce reliance on external finance, businesses should focus on increasing the productivity of existing assets and employees.
  2. Improve productivity
    Collect business performance data and compare it to your previous performance, industry benchmarks and the strategic goals of your business to help assess how your performance.
  3. Review cost structures to find savings
    If a business cannot bring costs under control or pass increased costs onto customers, then both cashflow and profitability are reduced. This can impact the future viability of your business.
  4. Adopt appropriate risk management strategies
    Uncertain times expose your business to risks that could threaten its viability. Develop appropriate risk management strategies to address your issues.
  5. Review your business plan
    When business conditions change, it's good practice to revisit and amend your business plan and budgets so they reflect the current circumstances.
Even during economic uncertainty, opportunities will emerge for your business to grow. If these opportunities are consistent with your strategy and can be properly funded, then you should investigate them fully. You may also need to create opportunities, such as seeking out new markets or clients.

To help you manage through the economic uncertainty and position your business for growth, we recommend seeking professional advice from your accountant. Visit
CPA Australia's Tips for Small Business in uncertain Times  for more detailed information.

Selling to Government can appear to be a complex and lengthy task. The following tips have been designed as a step by step guide to help ease your way in meeting the requirements for contracts and tenders. The first step to providing a strong tender or quotation response is to research the department or agency that's advertising.

By doing initial research, your response will be focused because you'll have a greater understanding of:

  • the department's core service offerings
  • the department's high-level policy directions
  • the requirements of the tender or quotation
Next Steps

Click on this link to learn more Selling to Government

If you know that a tender or quotation is to be released in advance, take the opportunity to speak to the Project Officer before the tender is released.

Go to Finding Government Tenders and Quotes

China has announced new food establishment registration and product labelling requirements for imported food products from 1 January 2022. The requirements apply to all countries, including Australia.

The new requirements cover the registration of overseas food manufacturing, processing, and storage businesses. They also set out labelling requirements. The requirements apply to a broad range of food products.

The new requirements came into effect on 1 January 2022. Businesses exporting to China may need to apply to be registered with China and ensure their labelling is compliant well in advance of the requirements coming into effect. To learn more go to Exporting Food to China

The effects of the COVID restrictions continue to be felt throughout the community. There have been a number of infections recorded over this summer period in Moyne, causing some businesses to shut down temporarily. On the positive side, many businesses throughout Moyne managed to remain open and trade successfully. 

The Department of  Jobs, Precincts and Regions is reminding businesses that CovidSafe Plans are mandatory. If you need assistance to complete your plan, the department has developed a TEMPLATE that makes it easier for you to create your PLAN by asking you to answer a set of questions which then forms your actions for the PLAN. 

What makes your plan ‘compliant’?
  • You need to illustrate that you are addressing all mandatory requirements set out by the Victorian Government.
  • You need to regularly review your plan, especially if restrictions change.
  • It needs to be onsite and accessible if an Authorised Officer requests to see it.
EVERY BUSINESS MUST HAVE A COVIDSAFE PLAN

Go to Update Your CovidSafe Plan , find the template and complete the form.