SuccessStories

Small businesses in NSW

Contents

NSW is home to 34% of all small businesses in Australia, with small business (sole traders and businesses employing 1-19 employees) making up 98% of all NSW businesses.

There are over 765,000 small businesses in NSW, with around 230,000 of these small businesses (30% of the total) based in regional NSW.

Over the last five years, small business growth has averaged 3% annually, creating jobs and growing the NSW economy state wide.

The top three industry sectors for small businesses in NSW are Construction (16.2%), Professional, scientific and technical services (13.1%) and Rental, hiring and real estate services (11.1%).

NSW small businesses employ around 1.65 million people in the private sector, which is around 44% of the State’s private sector workforce and NSW small businesses pay more than $55.53 billion in annual wages and salaries to employees every year.

NSW small businesses contribute more than $355.06 billion to annual sales and service income.

67% of NSW small business owners are male and 33% female and 36% of small business operators were born overseas.

Data: ABS 2017/18 and Census 2016.

1. Start Ups2. New Jobs3. Sustaining4. Grow5. Disruption6. Disability Sector7. Regional8. Digital

Services delivered from 1 January 2017 to 30 September 2019

01New businesses

Australian Mountain Pepper

Location: Braidwood

New product launch

Immediate sales

Reached target market

This was their first venture into business, and they wanted some advice on how to market their product and story. As one of the few producers of native mountain pepper in Australia, they had a unique product offering.

Working with a Business Connect Advisor they identified their target market, branding, packaging, website development and business compliance. The advisor also guided Tim to collaborate with other agencies to really push Australian Mountain Pepper into the market.

The product launched in early 2018 which saw the business attract the right clientele including up-market restaurant chefs, wholesalers and local people of influence.

When Tim and his wife moved to a 40-acre property near Braidwood, a unique business idea landed on their laps. The property had a number of rare native mountain pepper trees.

mountain-pepper.com

A unique product and

story required a well-executed business plan.

New business created

8.

CharBella Cakes “I now have an established home-based business with a fully registered council kitchen. This gives me the freedom to run my business around my family life,” Nicole said.

“In 2017, I converted a room in my house to a commercial kitchen space to allow my business to run separate to my family space. All these goals and achievements would not have been possible without the guidance and support of my Business Connect advisor.”

“I also learnt valuable tools such as networking which has established life-long friendships and relationships with other business owners, and their help, and Business Connect, has been invaluable.”

9.

Owning your own business means you get to make the rules. Nicole was a professional pastry chef and stay-at-home mum, so she combined the two and started her own speciality cake business.

With some guidance and goal setting tips, Nicole registered the business name Charbella Cakes and began the process of setting up shop at home.

Location: Spring Farm

Registered home business

Marketing strategy

charbellacakes.com.au

New business created

Finding the freedom to start

your own cake making business

at home.

iAqua WaterSports

Sean’s advisor recommended that instead of being a small reseller of this new product, he should aim for national distribution rights.

Together they readdressed the business goals to include a full pitch, application and presentation to an international company. Sean ended up winning the national distributor rights for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region on the back of this advice and strategic planning.

Sean got more than he expected from Business Connect. With strong sales and a rapidly growing database, his business has set him and his family up for the future.

10.

Sean had a potential part-time business opportunity, selling high-quality and top-grade water sports equipment that worked with his current profession as a Sea Captain. He connected with an advisor to help sort out a plan, but the advisor saw more potential in the business idea.

Location: Freshwater

Secured national distribution rights

Business growth

iaquawatersports.com.au

A small, part-time business

opportunity with hidden

potential.

New business created

02New jobs

GoodChat TV

With help from a Business Connect advisor, Tom streamlined his various video business activities, restructured his website and created a long-term strategy for growth. Good Chat TV now has seven full-time staff and boasts clients like Qantas, GetUp! and Greenpeace.

Good Chat TV navigated expansion from a sole trader to a larger company and have gone from strength to strength ever since.

“Our business is going well. We have seven full-time staff and we don’t want to get any bigger!” Tom said.

12.

Tom was working as a sole trader on his video production company but had plans to expand. He reached out to Business Connect to formalise these plans.

Location: Thirroul

Business growth

New jobs created

goodchat.tv

Navigating an expansion from a soletrader to a larger company.

G+Co Hair & Beauty

“A Business Connect advisor gave me connections and ideas for the launch of the business. We also made a budget for the whole year including seasonal months like winter when clientele can be slow,” Giliane said.

The advisor helped Giliane find two new qualified employees that meet Giliane’s expectations and created marketing actions based on their core values. “We really care about women and self-esteem. We know that mothers are busy, but they also need and want to have their own time. That’s the main purpose of my business.”

13.

After Giliane was granted her Australian Resident visa, she wasted no time setting up her own beautician business G+Co Hair and Beauty.

With the vision of bringing a great team together to offer the best of beauty and hair services, Giliane needed some business help.

Location: Surry Hills

New jobs created

Surviving low season

g-anco.com.au

A marketing plan based on the business’ core values.

Circus Akimbo After launching, Circus Akimbo has become very popular and Claire decided to open a second location in Willoughby. A Business Connect advisor helped Claire hire staff strategically, discuss business goals and marketing possibilities. Claire also updated her business practices and wrote a Standard Operating Procedure manual.

With the help of Business Connect, new teachers and staff, Claire was able to reduce her hours to a more manageable load.

14.

If you can’t run away to the circus, why not bring it to your town? Claire started Circus Akimbo in 2013 to bring her love for the circus to Hornsby. Before her business she was travelling for over an hour each way to attend circus classes.

Opened a second location

Better work-life balance

Location: Hornsby

New jobs created

circusakimbo.com.au

Instead of running away to the circus,

Claire brought the circus to

Hornsby.

03Sustaining

E-commerce Asian grocer

delivers Australia-wide

G’Day Asian Grocery Wesley was introduced to the Multicultural Business

Connect advisor to help him bring his business to life. The advisor helped Wesley with digital marketing, intellectual property and business goals.

The advisor also connected Wesley with a number of opportunities to promote his grocery business. One major business development was the introduction of an e-commerce store. Now the G’day Asian Grocery e-commerce store is linked with Australia Post to deliver the goods right across Australia including regional NSW.

16.

While Wesley studied he worked in a grocery store. After eight years of saving he opened his own store, G’day Asian Grocery in Sydney’s Lower North Shore.

Wesley knew the day-to-day operations for the shop, but had no idea how to promote and market his business.

Location: Lower North Shore

National distribution

New E-commerce store

gdaygrocery.com.au

Hire a Bridesmaid

Kerstyn added administration and marketing contractors to her team, established contracts with her suppliers to ensure a standardised best practice service provision and implemented a Customer Relationship Management system. She also delegated social media management to her marketing contractor which gave her more time to attend industry events.

Within three months Hire a Bridesmaid was providing wedding and event management services to an average of three events per month, and was tracking well with its sustainable growth strategy.

Hire a Bridesmaid is now working to a fully-booked schedule with recent features across national television and media.

17.

Location: Caringbah

300% growth

New jobs created

Business owner Kerstyn had been running her wedding and event planning business for a couple of years. She loved the work but was only averaging one event per month. Kerstyn joined forces with Business Connect to find out what her options were. The Business Connect advisor worked with Kerstyn on her marketing plan and growth strategy.

hireabridesmaid.com.au

Tapping into a saturated market can require some

extra help.

BorderCompoundingPharmacy

Working with a Business Connect advisor they identified key areas of the business to make improvements. These included hiring a local accounting firm which made it easier to track budgets and forecasts. This gave the team a better understanding of their business and where they’re heading.

Another benefit of working with the advisor was being able to identify some clear ways of increasing turnover and profitability. They completed an overview of their website, which aims to drive customer sales by having a better shopping experience. The website is more user friendly and even has an online booking system.

The team also discussed email marketing and a plan for social media.

18.

After moving their business to the CBD of Albury, customer numbers started to increase. To make the most of this growth, business owners Ben and Lee wanted help developing a strategy.

Location: Albury

Digital marketing help

Increased profitability

bordercompounding.com.au

An influx in customers called for a business growth strategy.

04Growing

ArchNOllieA Business Connect advisor helped Renea navigate the systems and processes that would be impacted by this supplier arrangement, and worked through priorities for making this new partnership a success.

Renea was also nervous about the financial commitment required to service this agreement. Her advisor referred her to a local technical developer, assisting her on a path to technology integration.

“I successfully landed the contract with this particular trade partner. It is very exciting and it works with both the scale and growth of my business.”

20.

A major fashion platform offered Renea a chance to market her children’s fashion label, ArchNOllie. The only problem was that Renea didn’t know how to navigate the negotiation process.

“I had an important business partnership contract and I wanted an experienced business mentor to help me review and understand,” Renea said. Identified business priorities

Location: Casino

National distribution contract

archnollie.com

With a big offer on

the table, a business

strategy was vital.

WYNERGY With the right strategy, WYNERGY has the potential to create regional construction and maintenance jobs, support renewable energy development, and help farmers and land owners.

To develop the idea and be able to sell it to the market Ben Wynn founder of WYNERGY needed significant capital investment and professional support.

“The advantages of working with Business Connect have been second-to-none,” Ben said. “If I hadn’t met my advisor, I wouldn’t be as far down the track. He made connections and opened doors for me that have been incredibly helpful.”

Building solar farms across regional

Australia that suits the needs of

livestock.

21.

WYNERGY is a solar farm construction company that aims to build hundreds of small, livestock-friendly Agrivoltaic Solar Farms across regional Australia.

Location: Tamworth

Successfully attracted private angel investor

Supporting renewable energy

wynergy.com.au

05Disruption

Illawarra Taxi Network The Business Connect advisor helped the

management team understand the importance of strategic thinking. The focus was on building the brand, improving customer bookings and service, looking at revenue streams and technology platforms.

As part of the long-term strategy a new brand was developed and all 136 vehicles in the fleet were rebranded. The change modernised the company and would help achieve their goal of remaining the preferred point-to-point transport choice in the Illawarra region.

Rebranding a taxi service to tackle the

changing environment.

23.

After serving the entire Illawarra region from the top of Helensburgh to south of Albion Park for the past 58 years, Wollongong Radio Cabs needed to future-proof its business.

Wollongong Radio Cabs General Manager John Megas approached Business Connect to help review their business model.

Location: Illawarra

Future proofed business model

illawarranaxinetwork.com.au

Business sustained

Handmade jewellery from

Indigenous tribes in

Colombia finds its target market

in Australia.

Mami Watta A Business Connect advisor met with Ana to discuss her business goals and together they created a business and marketing strategy. Ana also built her brand story and successfully launched her new collection with a new online shop.

Since working with Business Connect, Mami Watta Collections has had a 610% increase in total sales through the online shop and a conversion rate of 414%.

As well as the increase in sales, the Business Connect advisor helped Ana make connections and gain valuable publicity for her business.

24.

Ana created Mami Watta Collections, a business that brings handmade jewellery from Indigenous tribes in Colombia to Australia.

The business was struggling to get enough sales through the markets and retail outlets of Surry Hills, but Business Connect turned that around.

Location: Sydney

Launched online shop

610% increase in sales

mamiwattacollections.com

Business sustained

06Disability sector

Didi Catering With the increasing numbers of new competitors in the catering industry, a challenge was to retain the business’ clientele, whilst increasing new clients for her food delivery service.

The Business Connect advisor discussed her business goals, and introduced the idea of the NDIS program.

With the assistance of the Business Connect advisor, Didi Catering is the first catering and food delivery company with Chinese background to reach the final step of registration to be an NDIS provider.

The first catering and food delivery company with a Chinese background to register as an NDIS provider.

26.

An Australian with Chinese heritage, Fei has been in the catering business for more than 10 years, having coffee shops in Schofields and Jordan Springs.

Fei is always willing to learn new ideas and management styles, so met with a Business Connect advisor for advice.

Location: Schofields

NDIS registration

didicatering.com.au

Developed business goals

“Increased staff by 5

and will potentially

triple the staff within next

12 -18 months.”

Shear Abilities Before Desiree launched her new business Shear Abilities she approached a Business Connect Advisor for feedback on the concept.

Together they streamlined pricing, identified financial targets and built a commercial model. With assistance from her advisor, Desiree now understands the Australian Government’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and where her business fits within that program.

Within a month of launching, Shear Abilities added a sensory room for children with autism, specialised equipment to cater for people in wheelchairs, a private room catering for women who wear headwear, and a wig room for women after chemotherapy.

27.

Desiree has a daughter with cerebral palsy so when she decided to set up a business, she knew its main purpose had to be inclusivity.

“It was very important for me to start a business that included everyone. Although I had everything worked out in my mind, I needed someone for extra support,” Desiree said.

Location: Maitland

Unique business idea

Added specialised equipment

Working on an inclusive

business model with Shear

Abilities

shearabilities.com.au

Crucial help navigating the

NDIS when starting

a business.

Rapid Prompting Method Australia

Greg also attended the NDIS Verification Audit Ready Masterclass and is currently developing his Quality Management System.

“The business is now my sole job and income. I rent a room within an OT and Speech Therapy Clinic and work 4 days a week,” Greg said.

“I reached my initial target number of clients within the 3 - 6 month goal. I am now exploring more marketing options, and have reached my second target number of clients. At this stage am focussing on expanding the business.”

“Business Connect has been instrumental in the success of the business to date.”

28.

When Greg wanted to start his own business, he needed help in further understanding the NDIS and how it operates a business within it. He found a Business Connect advisor who assisted him with NDIS specific knowledge and advice in navigating the price guides and structure of the service.

Location: Randwick

Financial independence

Achieved client targets

rapidpromptingmethodaustralia.com.au

07Regional

Trang Hue Vietnamese Food

Trang initially wanted to rent a building to sell her pork rolls, but she had no experience running a business. A Business Connect advisor worked with Trang, discussing costings, locations, government requirements and expansion.

With the assistance of Business Connect, Trang has purchased a Van, which enables her to bring her food to various markets, festivals and pop-up locations, obtained a lease on a property for a permanent shop-front, and has maintained amazing feedback ratings on social media. Her business is growing from strength to strength.

30.

Trang is passionate about food, especially Vietnamese food! She loves cooking good food for her family and friends and wanted to share her delicious meals with Central West NSW.

From idea to execution

Rapid business growth

Location: Orange

tranghue.com

Regional business development

Turning her passion into her lifes work.

After a natural disaster,

businesses in Tathra were

determined to recover bigger

and better.

Blend ProvidoreInitial support from Business Connect relied on the development and implementation of immediate recovery actions. This included the connection to a philanthropic organisation which helped replace damaged stock.

Business Connect also provided on-going business coaching which has led, amongst other things, to a re-vamped business model for the café.

After the fires in Tathra, Blend Providore and other local businesses were determined to make a comeback.

Not only did the fires effect the businesses physically, they also resulted in a downturn of tourist trade. Business Connect provided short and long-term support.

Fostering collaboration

Location: Tathra

Secured support funding

Photo credit: davidrogersphotography.com

blendprovidore.com

31.

Regional business development

iHop Hunter Valley A Business Connect advisor worked with them to

perform an analysis of the business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Based on their discussion, strategic actions to help them achieve their goals were implemented, and ways of how to use email marketing to build relationships with customers and drive sales suggested.

‘We are about to roll out a new timetable with the confidence of knowing our business is in good shape.’ Kristy said.After moving to the beautiful Hunter

Valley wine region of Pokolbin, Tim and Kristy noticed a gap in the local vineyard tour market and started to build a hop-on-hop-off business model. This would give consumers an affordable and flexible transport option for the area.

Location: Pokolbin

Identified market gap

Filling a much needed gap

proved to be beneficial.

ihophuntervalley.com.au

32.

Developed business model

Regional business development

08Digital

Gymnastics 21 “We’d been advertising in school newsletters and that had worked well in the past, but they changed their layout and rules and it wasn’t working as well anymore,’ Samantha said.

“Being a small business, I wanted to know what my options were, and not just the ones I knew how to access.”

The Business Connect digital specialist helped Samantha find new platforms across social media and taught her how to understand marketing retargeting. Using the right retarget strategy, Samantha started converting people from her website. In just one campaign, Samantha acquired 15 new customers with 150% return on investment.

Samantha started her own mobile gymnastics business at 21, and after reaching 200 members decided to move to a permanent facility. Before taking the leap, Samantha needed a strategy.

A Business Connect digital specialist discussed business goals with her and addressed her major issue - advertising.

Location: Thornton

Solo entrepeneur

150% Return on investment

gymnastics21.com.au

34.

Young business leverages rapid growth with some support.

Export Connect

Najib spoke to a Business Connect digital specialist who had been recommended by one of the big banks. While Najib knew what he wanted, he also had questions and doubts about starting his own business. By the end of his first meeting with the digital specialist, Najib had a clear direction and understanding of what areas required priority.

“Business Connect was so important to me because the business had no digital capability or knowledge,” Najib said.

“But instead of just working on one element, we created a business strategy alongside our digital strategy. Our advisor had an incredible corporate strategy background, which was enormous for us—and probably accelerated our business growth by a further six months.”

Najib wanted to branch out and start his own export business, but despite his experience and drive, he was missing a crucial tool, a digital strategy.

Location: Sydney

New jobs created

Rapid business growth

exportconnect.com.au

35.

Najib knew just who to speak to

before starting his export business.

Business Connect is a dedicated and personalised NSW Government program that provides trusted advice to help you start or grow your small business.

To ind out more, or to register with Business Connect, visit:business.nsw.gov.au/businessconnect

State of New South Wales though NSW Treasury 2019. You may copy, distribute and otherwise freely deal with this publication for any purpose provided that you attribute NSW Treasury as the owner.