Are you a business owner in Murrindindi Shire? Council is holding an online workshop for business owners at 7pm on Thursday 21 May, to discuss opportunities to help businesses recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Council's Tourism and Events Portfolio Councillor, Jackie Ashe said it's been fantastic to see such great collaboration between business owners and Council over the last few months.
'Many business owners across our Shire took part in our online survey, which provided Council with valuable information about how their business is going and the impacts COVID-19 is having on their operations. A number of businesses have also jumped onboard Council's new Dindi Directory platform – a great way to connect businesses and customers. However, now is the time to think about what opportunities – and challenges - lie ahead for businesses.
'The results from the online survey, completed by over 260 businesses (95% of which are small to medium enterprises), show that over 30% of businesses in our Shire have lost all of their income due to COVID-19, and over 65% of businesses have lost more than half their income. These are shocking results. We need to come together to begin to plan a way forward for our local businesses and community.
'Our Business Workshop will be held online and will be interactive. We'll kick things off with an update from our CEO Craig Lloyd, and then we'll use online technology to gather information in a Q&A style format. The more information and ideas we gather, the better we will be able to support our business community to come out of this pandemic in good shape.
'As restrictions ease, there will be challenges for some in resuming their operations. For others, there will be opportunities. Everyone's experience will be different.
'The Tourism sector is a great example. It will be a while before we'll be able to travel too far, so regional travel within Victoria is set to increase as people look for alternatives to their regular overseas holiday. We want to know how businesses are planning to take advantage of this opportunity and how we can help. Tourism is our second largest industry sector. It employs 586 people and is worth $115M to our economy.
