Buying an established business can represent a huge challenge – and a huge opportunity. Dr Vanessa Atienza-Hipolito bought a long-standing health business eight years ago and has discovered there is always more to learn. While many business stories begin as an idea that sparks a start-up, small business success stories can take other forms too. In...
Reaching out to the SBDC for advice was the key to helping Elizabeth Lang from Diversity Focus make the right decisions during her business journey. Diversity Focus is a research, consultancy and training business that was established in 2017, inspired by the vision to create a more equitable and inclusive world. Founder Elizabeth Lang said that...
When Melissa Raffan’s career took an unexpected trajectory and she became a small business owner, she was driven by her personal passion for scrapbooking and a desire to do something different. “The previous owner literally made a joke that I should buy the business. That was in May 2021 and by November I had taken over the shop,” Melissa said. “I...
Turning a hobby into a side hustle business can be a labour of love, but one business owner warns others to be careful of the ‘fine print’ of regulations if you are working from home. Empire Copper is owned and operated by husband and wife team Cam and Beth Hayes as a side hustle, while they still work full time in the sheet-metal industry and...
United by a dream to “do aged care differently”, nurses Julie Arnould and Carole Bain launched their business, Perth Care + Companion Company, in 2019. Fast forward just three years and Perth Care + Companion Company (PCCC) now employs more than 100 healthcare workers, with around 90 per cent of them women. The business was recognised as a state...
Vicki Read’s personal journey recovering from cancer led her to transforming her hobby of pottery into a full-blown business. After resigning from her full-time job in aged care, the Great Southern-based potter sought a more flexible job – and in the process found crucial guidance in the Business Local team at the Albany Business Centre. “When I...
For Ami Hackett, turning her ‘holiday job’ into a business launched her into the unknown, but keeping her business skills current helped her steer it through rough waters. Ami opened her self-named boat detailing and management business, Ami Marine, in Success in 2004 after an early career on the land in the wool industry. The marine business now...
Starting his business five years ago and completing nearly 20 of our SBDC business skills workshops so far, Laundon Peacock is someone who loves to learn! Here he shares some of his experiences and lessons from his videography business, LP Visuals. Laundon Peacock launched his small business, LP Visuals, while he was a university student. What...
Tendering is the process of creating a formal offer (or ‘bid’) to supply goods, services or works as requested by a government agency or private organisation. Procurement and tender specialist Celia Jordaan also sees tendering as an opportunity to work out what you do well in your business and use that to your competitive advantage. Through her...
If you’re like many business owners, you might find yourself putting off certain tasks, actions or decisions until after the Christmas break. Here’s your festive inspiration to take action now. We asked our business adviser, Peter Frey, for his thoughts on what kind of actions business owners tend to delay at this time of year – and what to do...
Connecting to a business adviser at the SBDC can make the world of difference to any new business according to artistic business founder, Kym Gow. “It is daunting starting out in a new business,” Kym said. “I wish I'd known about what was on offer from the SBDC in the beginning.” Colour Passion is an online business that provides high quality...
Mike Dale used the PIVOT program to recharge Dial-A-Doctor.