Training and support crucial for business survival

From today, business owners wanting to create or improve their online presence can tune in to a series of free tutorials.

Eurobodalla Council’s manager of tourism Tim Booth will kick off the daily program from 10am on Monday 20 April with a Zoom tutorial about listing with the Australia Tourism Data Warehouse. Mr Booth said ATDW was a simple tool which afforded organisations maximum exposure with little effort.

“It’s the national tourism platform, which means your business or event – and the region – gets showcased across multiple tourism sites, like VisitNSW.com, Australia.com and Eurobodalla.com.au,” Mr Booth said.

“For the rest of the week we’ll be looking at using Canva to create great designs, setting up Instagram and Facebook pages, and navigating Google’s listings and ads.”

Council’s manager of strategic growth Liz Rankin said COVID-19 had created complex challenges for all businesses on top of already serious disruptions in the wake of recent bushfires.

“I’m relieved so many of our small businesses are actively seeking financial assistance under bushfire recovery funding; 1,394 shire operators have already applied for the NSW Government’s $10,000 small business grants,” Ms Rankin said.

“Another 290 Eurobodalla businesses have applied for the $50,000 small business grant with 177 already approved and just 12 declined. Funding for businesses impacted by coronavirus is now available, and all enterprises should check their eligibility for the additional help.”

Ms Rankin said assistance with training and support was crucial for organisations to survive current social distancing measures, but working out what was best for individual businesses could be time consuming and confusing.

“To help, Council’s business development and tourism team have put together three months of webinars, Zoom tutorials and online mentoring programs. Free tutorials on topics like cash flow for small business success, record keeping and budgeting, and business disruption during COVID-19 will be easy to access,” Ms Rankin said.

"For businesses wanting more technical development and specific industry expertise, we’re sponsoring four different mentoring programs, including the University of Wollongong’s “Working From Anywhere” program, specifically developed to help businesses recover from bushfire, and a program for food and beverage operators on how to remain connected and accessible in times of social distancing.”

For more information on workshops and activities for Eurobodalla businesses: