We are proud to have recently delivered the 3rd Small Business Friendly Program Annual Conference from 27-28 April held on the beautiful Sunshine Coast. Here are some key highlights…
This year’s SBF Program Conference was built around the theme of ‘ignite – ideas into action’ with a significant focus on place-making. This included ideas for activating local areas to increase spending, creating attractive public spaces, and providing small businesses with new opportunities!
A highlight was welcoming Noosa Council into the SBF Program (pictured above). With the addition of Livingstone, at the beginning of May, we now have 45 of 77 councils across Queensland as members of the program.
I would like to thank all the councils, small business leaders, and speakers who gave up their time to come together and participate in our conference. The quality of connections and information sharing was outstanding and I have no doubt that it will result in big things for small businesses across Queensland.
During the conference, Julia Spicer our Chief Entrepreneur and small business owner said, “Fear doesn’t create sustainable change, passion does”. The passion of our small business communities is hard to replicate and it is critical to driving change across Queensland.
The conference provided some great opportunities to hear from small business owners and industry leaders, supporters, and change-makers. I’m sure that all our attendees and speakers left with some tangible strategies to put in place.
The top 10 things I took away from the conference were:
- Nothing happens in isolation – we are part of an ecosystem
- Listen
- Connect
- Collaborate
- Tell your story and tell theirs too
- Fail fast (and try again)
- Make magic happen
- Embrace co-opetition – work together
- Right size – support, services, and investment for your community
- Create awareness so no one is left behind.
We look forward to putting these lessons into action as we continue enhancing the operating environment for small businesses across Queensland.
If you are new to our newsletter or would like to learn more about our services, resources, initiatives, and projects, visit the QSBC website. If you are ever unsure and are looking for more information, give us a call at 1300 312 344 or submit an enquiry.
Dominique Lamb
Queensland Small Business Commissioner
For more details, read the QSBC newsletter April (Conference edition) 2023
