Whatever type of business you have, working for yourself means you need a broad range of knowhow.

You can’t be an expert at everything, and will often need additional support services such as accountancy or legal help. Having a good understanding of these topics will help you make best use of your time with these specialists. That's where our small business workshops can help.

About our workshops

  • Our presenters are specialists in their field, who are (or have previously) run their own small business, so they are well-placed to provide useful and constructive advice and support.

  • Sessions are available at no or low cost, thanks to funding from the State Government of Western Australia.
  • We are constantly reviewing and changing the content to ensure they meet the needs of today’s rapidly changing small business environment.

Each year around 8,000 current and aspiring small business owners attend our workshops. Listen to some of their experiences.

We offer a range workshops across seven key categories. If you are just beginning your small business journey we recommend beginning with our free Starting a Business workshop.

Workshop categories

To help you find the right workshops for you and your business, we’ve grouped them by topic.

Business skills

These are the fundamental skills to actually run your operation. Ranging from your first steps of writing a business plan, setting up your business and developing systems, through to employing staff, health and safety obligations, and succession planning.

Digital skills

From having your own website, promoting your business on social media, through to managing cyber security and using online tools to manage your business, having good digital skills is now essential.

Financial management

Financial management involves understanding how your business operates day to day, as well as at a strategic level. It’s about budgeting, cash flows, recordkeeping and so much more.

Interpersonal skills

Sound interpersonal skills are essential when dealing with customers, staff and suppliers. However, it’s also important to understand your own needs, including improving work/life balance or building resilience.

Sales and marketing

Successful selling requires a range of skills from developing sales strategies, building personal networks, managing online purchases or bookings, and marketing your goods or services.

Strategy and risk

All business includes an element of risk, having skills to develop strategic plans and to manage risk are essential.

Tendering and contracts

Many business opportunities, particularly with government or larger businesses, are only available through a tendering process. Our workshops will walk you through the basics of how to get started through to understanding contracts.

Foundation workshops

As you explore our workshop listings you’ll notice that some of our workshops are labelled as a foundation workshop. These are workshops which have been developed specifically for people who are new to running their own business.

Making a booking

All workshop bookings are made and managed online using Eventbrite. You’ll find full details regarding dates and locations for each workshop our workshop schedule and each booking page.