Experts from some of Australia’s most established and fastest growing companies have joined forces with the City of Sydney and NSW Government to help small businesses, creatives, retailers and hospitality owners bounce back from the pandemic.
The City, in partnership with the State Government, is hosting a series of nine webinars that will guide businesses on how to sell online, create cost-effective branding solutions and use the big platforms to accelerate growth.
The Reboot 2022 Small Business Series kicks off on 29 March and will feature experts from some of Australia’s most successful companies including RedBalloon, Shop You, news.com.au and Eucalyptus.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the initiative will help support businesses to develop new, innovative ways of thinking and working to ensure they can prosper and grow post-pandemic.
“The past two years have been extraordinarily challenging for our retailers, businesses and the hospitality sector and recovery will take time, adaptability and the willingness to consider new ways of doing business,” the Lord Mayor said.
“We’ve engaged industry experts and developed a series of webinars that will help these businesses to upskill, learn and navigate a path forward in a post-pandemic world.”
With a focus on digital content skills and growing customers and brand, the webinars will provide inspiring stories and practical examples to help businesses learn, innovate and grow in 2022.
The Reboot series is proudly supported by the NSW government’s Business Connect program which provides advice and support to help businesses get off the ground, adapt and grow.
Minister for Small Business Eleni Petinos said the partnership between the City of Sydney and NSW Government will expand opportunities for small businesses to access support through the Business Connect network.
“Small businesses are the lifeblood of the economy, their importance in providing jobs and services to the local community cannot be overstated,” Ms Petinos said.
“Business Connect has helped almost 44,000 businesses since the program began in 2017. It provides a network of accredited business advisors who provide expert, professional and independent advice on how to run a small business.
“With webinars on topics such as driving growth and nailing your marketing, the Reboot series is highly relevant for small businesses as they move on from COVID-19 restrictions and the challenges of the past two years, including the recent floods.”
The series includes:
Brand Building, Naomi Simson, co-founder, RedBalloon
29 March, 12pm-1pm
If you want your business to stand out, building and managing its brand is fundamental to its success. In this noisy digital world, it is even more important for your brand to be memorable and have impact. A brand extends far beyond a logo.
Getting financial fundamentals right – Melissa Browne, co-founder, The Money Barre
5 April, 12pm-1pm
Managing money and finances in your business can make or break it. Learn how to manage your cashflow and finances, the financial implications of different business structures and some of the best financial planning and tools available.
Create a winning online store – Kelly Slessor, CEO, Shop You
12 April, 12pm-1pm
Technology can be extremely intimidating, with many businesses putting it in the too hard basket. Learn which e-commerce platform is right for your business, the plugins that will help grow your business and what combination of platforms and plugins will really drive results.
Content that drives clicks – Lisa Muxworthy, editor-in-chief, news.com.au
26 April, 12pm-1pm
Creating content and getting your content out there is not easy. Learn to build an audience and create content that drives attention and customer conversions, which content drives the biggest click-throughs and how to pitch to media.
How to create storytelling content that really connects – Wayne Quilliam, Aboriginal artist and digital creator
3 May, 12pm-1pm
In a digital world, storytelling is the stuff high growth brands are made of. To stand out, a great brand, product or service is not enough. Learn the importance of stories in the digital world, how businesses create their stories and how to translate stories into imagery and video online to capture attention.
Nailing your marketing mix – Sandradee Makejev, founder, St Frock, Kelly Slessor, CEO, Shop You and Sina Klug, founder, Nutie Donuts
10 May, 12pm-1pm
To drive more sales and grow your audience, the guest speakers will give advice on which channels, content, and audience growth strategies they have used for success. Learn about some of the biggest challenges they have faced due to growth as well as some of their most successful campaigns. The speakers will share insights into how to grow followers that love you, which channels should you invest in and insights into conversion, content and paid advertising.
The digital word of mouth: growth with Instagram – Mya Nichol, Instagram expert and coach
17 May, 12pm-1pm
Learn the secret of the Instagram algorithm and how to grow your social media channel. With the average person spending 142 minutes a day on social media, learn tips from the expert on how to accelerate your business.
Driving growth with online search – Kelly Slessor, CEO, Shop You
24 May, 12pm-1pm
Learn about search, Google My Business, search engine optimisation (SEO), driving traffic and generating more leads. Participants will also learn how to land the front page of Google, use free and paid digital marketing and how to improve visibility.
Growth hacking – Tim Doyle, founder, Eucalyptus
31 May, 12pm-1pm
Learn how Australia’s fastest growing companies are accelerating their customer base and get insights on how to effectively market your business and grow your customer base quickly.
“There’s no better time to start a business than right now because of the access to technology and customers online,” Kelly Slessor, CEO ShopYou said.
“As part of the Reboot series, we’ll share with businesses and start-ups the wealth of information and research online that can actually help make a business more sustainable and successful.
“The series has been curated to ensure that participants can learn practical tips and have a plan or ideas they can take away and implement. This is a great opportunity to learn from and interact with some great minds who have set up or worked in small business and worked their way through the challenges to success.”
For more details on the Reboot webinar series, visit whatson.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au.
