During Small Business Month the NSW Government is celebrating the diversity of NSW businesses and highlighting the support available.
The theme for this year is “Connect for Success” with events centred around networking and connecting with peers and experts.
Executive Director Service NSW for Business Cassandra Gibbens said the Department of Customer Service was home to the Service NSW Business Connect team which is available to support businesses with free, independent and professional business advice from experienced advisors.
“Service NSW Business Connect services include events and resources, providing practical insights and business skills development for anyone who owns or operates a small business or is thinking of starting one,” Ms Gibbens said.
“A good business idea is the same in any language and Business Connect advisors can help develop and launch your idea into a small business success story.
“About one in three small business operators do not have English as their first language. Service NSW Business Connect advisors can coordinate translating services in any language to be available for an advisory session.
“They also have Arabic, Cantonese, Korean, Mandarin and Vietnamese speaking advisors who provide in-language business support and a deep level of cultural understanding.
“NSW is the business capital and Australia’s doorway to the world so if you have a small business idea, you can benefit from the free expertise of Service NSW Business Connect advisors who have run their own businesses, have qualifications in business-related disciplines and have advisory experience.”
Small Business Month will be held in November with numerous business and networking events occurring across the State.
Small business owner Lai Nguyen migrated to Australia in 2015 with her husband and sons and after recognising a gap in the food manufacturing market her family started a business making traditional Vietnamese fish sauce.
Mrs Nguyen said the sessions with Service NSW Business Connect helped her launch her company and navigate the legislation and regulations to run a food manufacturing facility in NSW.
“As new migrants to Australia with limited English we were instilled with a newfound confidence as we were assigned an advisor who spoke our mother language, Vietnamese,” Mrs Nguyen said.
“It was extremely helpful in communicating and made understanding the process much easier.
“The advisor was enthusiastic, had solid knowledge and small business experience. By acting on her advice, we have started to generate revenue since launching our products.
“We now have launched three product lines which are stocked in five NSW Asian supermarkets and distributed interstate.”
More than 46,000 NSW customers have accessed support through Service NSW Business Connect with 98 per cent of customers likely to recommend the program to other business owners.
