E08 Anita Mariani
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[00:00:00] Shelley: Welcome to the regional collective podcast. We're all about sharing stories of success, challenges, and the amazing community spirit in small and micro businesses. Here, we redefine small business with big hearts and determined hustle. Get ready to be inspired by regional entrepreneurs making a big impact.
[00:00:28] Shelley: Whether you're just starting out or already on your business journey, you'll find motivation and practical tips to help you thrive. We believe in the power of community. So let's share, support and celebrate regional businesses together. Tune in and get inspired to thrive.
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[00:00:46] Shelley: Get ready to unlock your next big idea with Anita Mariani from the B2B [00:01:00] program at the Regional Development Australia. Today we dive into practical strategies for small and medium business owners to explore and execute their dreams. From identifying opportunities to turning ideas into action, this episode is your guide to entrepreneurial success in your region.
[00:01:19] Shelley: So thanks, Anita, for joining us today.
[00:01:22] Anita: Thanks for having me.
[00:01:23] Shelley: well, first of all, can we just, I guess, can you help us understand you know, what the RDA, so Regional Development Australia, does, and what your role, within the Barossa, Light, Gawler, Adelaide Plains branch is.
[00:01:35] Anita: It's an exhaustive region, but we're not, we're not the only ones actually.
[00:01:40] Anita: Regional Development Australia is, a program that exists right across Australia. South Australia has a little bit of a different model where we're funded by three levels of government. and we are really here to, promote, and support businesses and industries, and the community [00:02:00] basically to thrive.
[00:02:01] Anita: So yeah, really a lot of different initiatives that we're funded to do. and being a non government organization, it gives us, you know, a bit, a bit of flexibility to be able to work with the region. specifically and what its core needs are. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:02:17] Shelley: Yeah. And what's your role there?
[00:02:19] Anita: So my role is regional development manager, which is quite broad, but it gives me the option to, work with businesses.
[00:02:26] Anita: so, at any level small to large. I also work with, with industries as a whole as well. in particular the tourism industry. and then I also, run a regional leadership development program as well, which is a new initiative.
[00:02:42] Shelley: Yeah. Excellent. Well, yes. and as a, I won't say user of your services, but you know, it's been, a great,resource to have, and particularly I think with that focus on your, you know, your immediate community as well.
[00:02:57] Shelley: so what sort of challenges do you [00:03:00] find have probably popped up more regularly or more often than not, given that, you know, the Barossa region, and your further sort of region, you know, we're an hour and a bit from Adelaide, what kind of probably challenges do businesses. find more often than not Popping up.
[00:03:18] Anita: Probably the most common Issue that pops up is workforce. Yeah And the fact that you're sort of in competition with more of the natural locations. Yeah to not only offer the services, but also the lifestyle to actually get people to move up here. So it's about building awareness to make people realize that, especially in our region, you know, we are so close to the city really.
[00:03:44] Anita: That's it. We actually do have a lot of the services that you can get, plus you have the country living lifestyle. That's it. It is a good lifestyle. And yeah. Yeah. So there's like a piece in there about, you know, attracting the workforce to actually [00:04:00] come and live here and work here, but then there's also, I guess some solutions in there when it comes to,
[00:04:06] Shelley: cause you, you've done a bit of work in the past about that.
[00:04:09] Shelley: So how do you help as in your role, how have you helped provide some of that support for For businesses or certain industries. Like I know hospitality industry was quite sort of. important to, you know, help boost and probably still, you know, probably an industry of focus. Absolutely. Yeah. So what sort of things?
[00:04:27] Anita: so at a higher level, RDAs do sort of advocate for, things like skills and training. Yeah. and we can sort of feed the information through to people like the skills commissioner and, you know, the, the government departments that need to know about those requirements. Yeah. we also, can provide sort of one to one sort of support for businesses as well.
[00:04:47] Anita: So, we run the B2B program, which is very much about, working with businesses, for actual targeted support. So it gives them the opportunity to connect [00:05:00] with a professional. we'd like to thank ourselves as well. Think of ourselves as the conduit.
[00:05:04] Shelley: To sort of facilitate her as well. Isn't it? I can think, yes, that sort of connector.
[00:05:09] Shelley: Yeah. and so how does that work? So if someone's got an idea, or they've been working on a business concept, what sort of steps would they take?
[00:05:18] Anita: so we always really encourage businesses at any point to give us a call. if they've got, you know, a challenge that it could be a specific challenge or it could be.
[00:05:28] Anita: I can't get a
[00:05:29] Shelley: strategy or a strategy problem or that's right.
[00:05:32] Anita: Or I need more customers or it could be something really broad like that. or they, they could come across an opportunity that they really want to take up, but they're not sure what they need to do to get to that. So we always get them to contact us.
[00:05:47] Anita: we often will sit with them, just go through where they're at, where they're business, and then from there we can sort of start to refer 'em on to, the right people. so this B2B program, is basically, an opportunity to [00:06:00] offer subsidized support from our professional service provider. Yeah.
[00:06:04] Anita: so the idea actually in the first place, when we were developing this program was around building awareness of service providers.
[00:06:11] Shelley: Okay. Yeah.
[00:06:12] Anita: you know, going back to that original comment about, building awareness of the services that we have here in our region.
[00:06:18] Shelley: Almost like a directory, wasn't it?
[00:06:20] Anita: That's right.
[00:06:22] Shelley: Going on, where can I find a good accountant? Or who can I find that's someone that knows how to do website design or whatnot?
[00:06:27] Anita: That's exactly right. Yeah. Yeah. And it's, you know, we make sure that we're keeping contact with both those service providers and the clients. Yeah. To make sure that that service is really top notch as well.
[00:06:39] Anita: So you can,
[00:06:40] Shelley: and it's a vetted directory. So it's, you know, there's an application process as well. so you're not just referring people onto anyone, but you're actually going this person and where they're at in their business right now really needs this. expertise and this is the person that will fit well with them.
[00:06:58] Anita: Yeah, sometimes it's a matter of [00:07:00] personality matching as well. We've got a few different accountants on our list. and they've got, you know, their own personality, but also their passions and their expertise. So to be able to actually, you know, get to know these people.
[00:07:12] Shelley: like a matchmaker really and match them together.
[00:07:18] Shelley: and then, and I guess, you know, once they sort of go through that program, so it's subsidized, which is important because if you're, you know, at the start of a, a business journey as well, there's also not a lot of, not necessarily a lot of funds to invest at the start, but you also want to test out your idea, test your market, test the.
[00:07:38] Shelley: Strategy to see if it's actually going to, to, you know, to fly. yeah. And I guess how else can you businesses, you know, look at that, I guess that market testing or exploring the potential for, you know, new, new ideas, which can be, so it could be a new brand or a new business, or even a pivot within their business or a [00:08:00] new product or brand.
[00:08:01] Shelley: what sort of a key things that people, that people would need to, Look at, I think, and consider, yeah,
[00:08:08] Anita: I think it's really important to have a really clear plan in place. So to spend some time before actually going out and launching, actually spending some time on. what they want that journey to look like and what the end point is almost.
[00:08:24] Anita: and it gives them then a really good structure to sort of step backwards and, work out how they're going to get there. But, you know, it's, it's easy when you get stuck in the operations of the business to, sort of sit back and go, am I actually, are these
[00:08:37] Shelley: Is this aligned with actually what we want to be doing?
[00:08:39] Anita: That's right.
[00:08:40] Shelley: Where we want to, where we want to get to. Because And that's important even for established businesses to check in and have a resource like the RDA to check in and evaluate regularly so that you don't go so far off course that it causes problems or a headache, but that you can kind of tweak, Oh, we're off course a little bit.
[00:08:59] Shelley: Let's go back. [00:09:00] Actually. Yep. This is not an opportunity for us. Hang on. Come back to where we want to be.
[00:09:04] Anita: That's right. Yeah, that's exactly right. So that planning, I think is a really. First the really important first step. Yeah. in that journey. Yeah. so there's a lot of things you can do to like research the market.
[00:09:15] Anita: Yeah. it's a really good idea to get involved with a local or state industry group as well. Yeah. just to, offer that sort of two-way communication so they can provide insights. trends and different sort of, things to consider when you're starting in that industry. but also on the other side of things, they can advocate for all the businesses as one.
[00:09:36] Anita: So if you're feeding back, you know, the challenges that you're having, or the successes that you're having, they can then feed that back up to the right people.
[00:09:45] Shelley: And also, the thing that I've liked as well is, having, you know, some of those, networking events or, you know, breakfast or in evening type events because it means that you've got other people around you [00:10:00] who are you know seeking to Be a sustainable and good business within your region as well and that's how you can meet lots of Other like minded people as, as well.
[00:10:10] Anita: That's exactly right, yeah.
[00:10:11] Shelley: And do you manage that program for the
[00:10:13] Anita: Yeah, we do, yeah. So part of the B2B program is regular networking events. Yeah. and we try to, include a learning component to those events as well. based on, sort of, the common questions we're asked or challenges. So we just recently had one, with Mella Olsen, who's one of our B2B providers.
[00:10:31] Anita: they did an update on employment law, which, you know, it's such a minefield. So, yeah.
[00:10:36] Shelley: But also good to have, you know, have those opportunities to go, Oh, actually we need to look into that more. You know, like having those little, and, I think Ange did like an SEO one, you know, but they're those things you go, Oh, we must look into that more.
[00:10:50] Shelley: So it's good to have those as well. As, as reminders and, and as you said, the RDA operates slightly differently in each state and probably in each region will have [00:11:00] their own program and focus, I suppose. Yeah. But, but really important to, I think that's the thing of let more people know that that's a really valuable resource, because you've got someone there that's, you know, In and around your region can give you really good feedback and help you along your way.
[00:11:23] Shelley: and then if you want, if you need to access that B2B program as well. So that's like $55 and you get some, yeah, with an expert.
[00:11:31] Anita: Which you can probably address most of the time. Challenges within that amount of time, you know? Or at least like, you know, if it's something,
[00:11:38] Shelley: get a really clear strategy Yeah.
[00:11:40] Shelley: Of where you need to go forward as well.
[00:11:42] Anita: Absolutely.
[00:11:42] Anita: Yeah. Yeah. So it's a really good service. Yeah.
[00:11:45] Shelley: so what are some examples of businesses who have used, you know, resources like the RDA and how have they found that to be useful? fruitful in their business and turn things around.
[00:11:56] Anita: We've worked with quite a few businesses across a [00:12:00] lot of different industries as well. So we've worked with a number of horticultural businesses out on the Adelaide Plains.we, obviously they've had some weather challenges and different sort of challenges out there recently. So, we were able to kind of work with them as well as the Northern Adelaide Plains Food Cluster to sort of provide support, through, you know, the, the challenges that they were, facing.
[00:12:26] Anita: and a lot of them are, you know, Come out on the other side now just to be able to take a step back and actually look at their business. from that strategic point of view.
[00:12:34] Shelley: And with some fresh eyes and yep. Yeah, absolutely. Support.
[00:12:39] Anita: Yeah, and also just, I guess a few different organizations taking advantage of different trends to be able to sort of grow or diversify their, their business.
[00:12:50] Anita: so agritourism is a huge trend at the moment, and such a great opportunity for our region as well because we have so many businesses that are in that side of [00:13:00] things. so we've had, you know, some people at the Barnes and Freling, they've, you know, been able to really diversify their income by,
[00:13:07] Shelley: Yeah.
[00:13:08] Shelley: Renovating silos for accommodation. They look fantastic. And it's a great spot there that they've got, you know, and to, And they've really, yeah, taken some really big risks and looking at those opportunities, haven't they? They've done a really good job.
[00:13:21] Anita: Yeah, they really have. So, you know, there's that part as well.
[00:13:24] Anita: Environmental and sustainability, another trend that's going on. Yeah. there's wineries and, different organizations that have been able to take a sidestep to be able to address that, side of things and, help with the circular economy and all the rest of it. So, yeah.
[00:13:40] Shelley: And that's it. There's lots of things and no matter what What's, you know, size of business you're at.
[00:13:45] Shelley: You need to have that regular review, don't you? You need to have that regular step back, have a look at the bigger picture and, and see how things are tracking, how they're aligned with your. business goals and you're out in desired outcomes. That's right.
[00:13:59] Anita: [00:14:00] Also market demand as well. And you know, what, what's the gap that your organization is feeling?
[00:14:05] Anita: If you're finding that in your area, the competition is growing, then, you know, if you can take a step back and say, okay, within our organization, what, what gaps or what solutions can we provide? and then it's just a, you know, you know, pivot.
[00:14:21] Shelley: I used to love that word before. COVID. Yeah. And agile, agility.
[00:14:26] Shelley: I love that word. Yeah. COVID. Thanks a lot. Yeah.so if, looking back on sort of, you know, developing concepts or new, new ideas, what are some sort of steps we talked a little bit about, you know, having some of that feedback and planning straight, you know, right at the get go in the start. But, I like we're not, What are some other, I suppose, resources and things that people can, can use to take along for that startup journey or that new idea journey.
[00:14:58] Shelley: So that sort of, [00:15:00] as it gets to mature, you know, as it sort of matures from a, either a business idea or a concept.
[00:15:06] Anita: Yeah. Yeah. What's the next step. I think, yeah, once I got that plan in place, I guess, the next step is sort of. Maybe even creating a bit of a prototype of the product or, going on to social media is a really good option just to sort of test, test out your idea directly with your market.
[00:15:26] Anita: So, you know, and you really need to make a big effort to Seek feedback directly from your customers.
[00:15:32] Shelley: As much as you may not want to hear the constructive feedback. You want to just hear everything's great. Everything's great.
[00:15:41] Anita: Yes. But sometimes you do have to hear that. And that's where mentors come in real handy as well.
[00:15:48] Anita: You know, organizations such as yourself, Shelley, to be able to like sit with somebody and actually ask the questions about things that they might not even consider, but to come in from a non pious. Sort of, third [00:16:00] party view. Yeah, it does make a big difference,
[00:16:02] Shelley: and especially at the startup phase as well.
[00:16:04] Shelley: So, you know, so for example, you may have, you know, a small group of clients or it hasn't grown quite as big. Take that moment to interview, seek some feedback, do a request for feedback form.
[00:16:18] Anita: That's right.
[00:16:19] Shelley: See, is it actually what you're delivering or what your product or your services is actually connecting with who you think your target audience is?
[00:16:27] Shelley: Because once your customer base grows too big, it's quite hard to. to get that feedback as, as easily. So when it's sort of small, when you're starting out, that's the time to go, Oh, do you know what? I love doing this, but nobody really appreciates it or wants it. It's not useful. So I actually probably shouldn't be focusing on that.
[00:16:45] Shelley: So you can make some of those adjustments early on. yeah. And then if you're then going to grow and scale, then you've got more of a focus for knowing what's going to. Hit what's going to fly [00:17:00] rather than sort of spreading yourself too thin and trying to do lots of Things half assed. Yeah, you can be a bit more strategic.
[00:17:07] Shelley: That's right. Yeah but also yeah getting somebody to Give you that feedback with you know honesty And you need to also accept it and go my great idea wasn't so great. They didn't love it And then go well, okay, then, you know, you've got to build a bit of that harder It's hard to skim because if you seek feedback, then you can grow from it.
[00:17:26] Anita: That is exactly right. Yeah. And you know, like there's plenty of amazing business people out there, entrepreneurs who are doing amazingly well that have tried a few things and they've fallen over. That's it. It's all part of that. That's it. Journey, isn't it?
[00:17:42] Shelley: Yeah. And that's it. You, those setbacks will happen, but you, you know, as you go forward, you can recover better from them.
[00:17:49] Shelley: I think. Learn.
[00:17:49] Anita: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Long, as long as you do learn .
[00:17:52] Shelley: If you don't learn, then you're an idiot. Yeah. . so yeah. So just to sort of, I guess, summarize, you [00:18:00] know, for a startup, how to, turn those ideas into, into action. Mm-Hmm. , what would be your key sort of takeaways for. For that and what, what things to have in place to, to really support that, you know, that business or that business owner on their journey.
[00:18:18] Anita: always. reach out and seek help from, other business owners, organizations like RDA, the original collective. We also have business coaches on the B2B program. so as many different opinions, as you can get, I think, that's great. That is key. and then you can sort of run your ideas past somebody.
[00:18:39] Anita: so that definitely would be my, my number one, planning of course, make sure you're really clear about what you want that plan to be.
[00:18:47] Shelley: And get nitty gritty into the numbers and really understand those. Like I think that's It's one of those things that people, Oh, the numbers will happen. It'll go. You really want to know exactly [00:19:00] the ins and outs.
[00:19:00] Shelley: And, you know, we'll talk a little bit about that with, with Yohan. He's the number, he's the number man. but certainly that, you know, sometimes it's uncomfortable. Oh, if we have a bad month, what's it going to look like? It's good to test that model out, test it out and see it before you start and go, look, if nobody buys anything for three months, where are we at?
[00:19:21] Shelley: Like, yeah, what's the plan? That way you're prepared and you can, Make better decisions along the way.
[00:19:27] Anita: Definitely. Yeah. And have a really clear idea of what your financial story should be. you know, what is that end goal? Are you wanting to just make an income and, you know, just sort of,
[00:19:40] Shelley: Do you just want to cover costs and be comfortable?
[00:19:43] Shelley: Do you want to grow scale?
[00:19:45] Anita: That's right. You want to have, you know, 50 employees on the books. And do you want to be a big, a big organization? So it's really important to know where you're heading in that. That's it. And you can set your margins accordingly, I guess. Yeah. Again, you kind, we'll go into more detail
[00:19:59] Shelley: Yeah. [00:20:00]
[00:20:00] Shelley: But I think also in, you know, and we look at, you know, we are looking to support small and micro businesses because again, no matter what size you are, Mm-Hmm. . Even if it is you, you know, you are, you're on your own. You're a micro business, you're never gonna have any employees. Mm-Hmm. . These are still implementable strategies because we want you to be sustainable.
[00:20:19] Shelley: That's right. Yeah. And that's just as important as if you were going to start, you know, and scale and then sell your company and all, you know, whatever your plans are, the structure still needs to be the same. The strategies still need to be the same. You're just doing that. It may not take you as long as someone who's got big plans for a hundred or so employees and a global brand with trademarking, you know, that's, It will take them longer to work on their plan, but it's still.
[00:20:45] Shelley: Can't miss that step.
[00:20:46] Anita: No, that's right. And not stretch yourself too thin as well. and that again, referring back to the B2B program, there's another sort of, purpose behind that, was to help people realise where they can outsource. Yeah. Because I think when you're [00:21:00] running a business, you kind of go, oh, I'm the only one who can do all of this.
[00:21:03] Anita: Yep. But to be able to take that step to actually kind of consult with one of these professionals, you realize that you can kind of,
[00:21:10] Shelley: that's it, do the things that you, and I think that's the thing of you do, do the things that you love to do and you do well and that bring the most value to the business.
[00:21:20] Shelley: And then the other bits identify and when you can outsource, you know, sometimes you're in it and you just have to be all and everything. Yeah. But then there comes a time and that's where, you know, the B2B program can help or talking with the RDA, development manager like you is to go, do you know what Shelley, your time isn't worth spending here.
[00:21:41] Shelley: Have a look at some of these and see how you can outsource part of that because then your business will get better because you're doing the thing that's in your zone and then someone else can compliment it. and then, yeah.
[00:21:52] Anita: How many people to do something they love, and there's all the other stuff that's around it.
[00:21:57] Shelley: Business, jobs, I think that's, other [00:22:00] people, you know, we get into careers where we're Suddenly going, why am I in people management when I started winemaking, but it got into people management. So, you know, we sometimes get a bit further away from where we really wanted to be. but yeah, and, are there any other things coming up for the B2B program?
[00:22:19] Shelley: What's on the cards for 24?
[00:22:20] Anita: Yeah. I'm just, I'm working with of the providers, to, map out exactly what topics we could cover. digital marketing is a really big,an interesting sort of topic for people. it's, you know, it's a really, simple way to get out there and. and tell people about your message basically.
[00:22:38] Anita: So, that will be a focus, coming up. we also have, we're working with Office for Small and Family Business at the moment, and they've got their sustainability program about to roll out. So we're working with, Brooke over there, and we'll hopefully have a sustainability workshop coming up soon, which will align nicely with that new grant that they've got coming out for energy efficiency.
[00:22:59] Anita: [00:23:00] Yeah.
[00:23:00] Shelley: Yep. Yeah. And that's the other thing, like you guys, the RDA is really good, point of contact to, you know, make sure you're on the newsletter because when those grants come out, you guys are right on it and can help. And there's people that can do grant writing and help assist with that and the B2B as well.
[00:23:17] Shelley: So, you know, for Medium sized businesses, you know, always looking for help in that area. That's another good resource. Yeah.
[00:23:25] Anita: And it's good for us to know who's looking for grant funds as well, because then when something comes through, we can sort of match it straight away.
[00:23:32] Shelley: And get on that. Cause sometimes there's only a short window or sometimes you need to have worked on a, On a proposal and then just wait for the grant to come out and then go because sometimes it can take quite a while to put all the information together for the application.
[00:23:48] Anita: That's it. Absolutely. Yeah. So we always say as grant ready as you can be. Yeah. The better. It's yeah, they don't give you much time. No. And they're always very competitive as well so. It's like an award application. Yeah. You need to [00:24:00] make sure it's thorough. That's right. Yeah. So we can help with letters of support.
[00:24:03] Anita: We can also do economic modeling just. to sort of show the impact of a project to the region. So there's all sorts of different resources that we can provide to support the applications.
[00:24:14] Shelley: Awesome. Yeah. That's good. Well, thank you very much for sharing, you know, what the B2B program does, what your role is, but also, you know, get that, get, get help and that support that's out there for regions.
[00:24:27] Shelley: So within their regional, community, look for the RDA, find out what their. support program is, and yeah, get in touch with them because it can help with getting your ideas turned into reality.
[00:24:39] Anita: Absolutely.
[00:24:40] Shelley: Thanks Anita.
[00:24:40] Anita: Thanks Shelley.
[00:24:42] Anita: β
[00:24:47] Speaker: Well, thanks for tuning in to the Regional Collective Podcast. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Don't forget to subscribe and follow us. And you can join our community each year to get [00:25:00] exclusive resources, expert advice and connect with other regional business owners as a member of the Regional Collective.
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