August Is Small Business Festival Month in Victoria

Victoria’s small business festival aims to help owner-operators expand, acquire new skills and identify opportunities.

This will be Victoria’s 13^th annual festival and the schedule is packed with events held across metropolitan Melbourne and in various regional centers. Many are available free of charge.

The Festival runs from August 1-31.

Small Business Minister Philip Dalidakis praised local owner-operators for embracing the festival.

“Small business owners have bought into it. We’ve provided opportunities for them to learn, to grow, to expand their businesses, and to also increase their knowledge: whether marketing, sales or even technology. They’ve been able to find something they need,” he explains.

“Small business confidence is sky high. Victoria has more than 576,000 small businesses and there is no greater way to test that confidence than to see how many businesses have started up over the last three years.”

Backing the small business community, this year the Victorian budget allocated an extra $13.5 million for small business mentoring and support. A key aspect of this mentoring is helping business owners understand how they can benefit from the digital economy.

An extra $55 million was allocated to the Investment Attraction and Assistance Program, which aims to attract new businesses to Victoria and help existing businesses expand, creating new local jobs.

And the government hopes the Small Business Festival will excite owners to take advantage of the new initiatives.

“The festival is their opportunity to create new connections. When you don’t have the money, when you don’t have the capacity, you need friends that can help you to connect with customers, sponsors, and mentors. This festival helps owners learn new ways to do business in this country,” Minister Dalidakis says.

Getting involved in your local small-to-medium-sized business (SMB) community through events, networking and social opportunities can really pay off. Hosted by the Victorian Government, the Small Business Festival Victoria celebrates small businesses while giving entrepreneurs from around the state a chance to learn new skills, network and access new technology.

There are hundreds of interesting and informative events across Melbourne and throughout regional Victoria all month long. Here are some of the events we’re looking forward to:

Faces of Small Business exhibition

This is a stunning outdoor installation and exhibition showcasing small businesses that go the extra mile for their employees, customers, community and the planet. Located in the Geelong Railway Station. Admission is free. Learn more.

Tips, traps & tools

If you’ve started a small business, you know that meeting all the government’s regulations and registration requirements can be a challenge. This seminar will provide information about intellectual property, trademarks, and business regulations and renewals, as well as an overview of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)’s resources for SMBs. Located at the Small Business Victoria Business Centre in Melbourne. Admission is free. Learn more.

Small business, BIG marketing

With world-class presenters, exhibits, practical tips and much more, this is the festival event you won’t want to miss. Exhibitors from around the country will be offering tools to help your business grow, and speakers will include Valerie Khoo from the Australian Writers Centre and Julie Palmer from the Business Networking Academy. Located at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. Tickets start at $45. Thursday 27 August, 7.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. Learn more.

Source: SBS