EP 3- podcast audio
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[00:00:00] Welcome back to the Regional Collective, the podcast that champions small business owners and their incredible stories of resilience. creativity and community. I'm your host Shelley Cox and I couldn't be more excited to kick off season two with something a little different because this time we're hitting the road.
[00:00:24] From the bustling main streets to the quiet hidden gems, we'll be traveling across South Australia to meet inspiring small business owners in their own backyards. Together we'll explore their challenges, celebrate their wins, and
[00:00:42] So buckle up for a heartfelt conversation with practical insights and a whole lot of inspiration as we shine a spotlight on the heartbeat of our regional economy. This is the Regional Collective, where small businesses make a big impact.
[00:00:59] [00:01:00] In today's episode, we're excited to chat with David West, a champion for vibrant local communities. With years of experience transforming quiet main streets into thriving hubs, David shares how investing in these spaces creates opportunities for businesses and communities alike. From practical tips for small business owners, to strategies that drive local growth, this conversation is packed with ideas to inspire action.
[00:01:27] So let's dive in and welcome David West to the Regional Collective podcast.
[00:01:31] So David, thank you for joining us today, to have a chat about, your involvement with Main Street sa, but also how you've seen, I guess main streets, high Streets, regional town streets, evolved and how they can, move forward in the new, we've just talked about post covid, way of working.
[00:01:49] So maybe if you could let us know a bit more about your background, how you got into focusing on retail strategies and main streets.
[00:01:56] Yep. Originally, I was working for Panasonic in [00:02:00] wholesale, trade. But then I went to Westfield and, started marketing in Westfield Shopping Centres in Adelaide.
[00:02:06] And so I started at Century Plaza in Arndar. And then eventually moved to Marion. So over that 10 year period I was working with Westfield and they're a, a really positive professional group that actually really show how shopping centres can work. And in South Australia they've had a very big impact on the economy.
[00:02:25] Of course, so after my 10 years I felt we've done quite a lot. I launched Marion with the new cinemas and we've done a lot of things at T3 Plaza and extensions and things. Yeah. I was looking for a new challenge, so I went to CBD and they were, looking at how could we manage this main street better.
[00:02:42] Because Rundle Mall is a mall, but it's also really a main street with a thousand shops, 15 arcades, and a whole mix of businesses. And very much like a shopping centre, but also a main street. And you've got one of the other businesses at the main street just at the end of Rundle Street. And, so I was looking at [00:03:00] Because it comes from a shopping centre background, in shopping centres everything is very measured and you measure traffic counts.
[00:03:05] And quite
[00:03:06] controlled as well, isn't it?
[00:03:08] Yes, some people say it's a little bit clinical to control, but it's also very well managed so they make sure the customer experience is really good. And because they're counting they can tell all the time whether people are coming or not, if they're running a promotion, are more people coming, with cleaning contracts and things, everything's done to a standard.
[00:03:25] So when I got to Rundle Mall, of course, it was a little bit different, it was a bit more, the council will do this and you can do that part there and then, you run the promotions and that with a group of retailers and off you go, that should go well. And I, being very inquisitive, I thought, there's got to be a better way of doing this, surely there's got to be a lot more detail about how it's done as far as the standards go.
[00:03:46] What I've found in the main street is that the, Things can change so dramatically, because in a shopping centre you don't have people coming out of a bar early in the morning and then walking down the street. You don't have people who, graffiti in front of shops, like that doesn't happen in a shopping [00:04:00] centre.
[00:04:00] So this, these are challenges and I thought, there's got to be a good way of starting to measure some of these things. So I, I started putting things in place. About how to measure the standards and making sure the customer experience was better.
[00:04:12] Because there's so many more variables, isn't there, in a main street that are out of your control, as you said.
[00:04:18] Yep. I've had plants ripped out of the front of, one of my businesses after a drunken night out. I saw on the security camera them carrying it down the street. I went, I hope it's gone to a good time.
[00:04:29] Even today, because it's raining outside, so in a main street of course it's wet. Now that doesn't happen in a shopping centre because it's controlled.
[00:04:35] Terrazzo floor, always the same quality and standards. It always had this principle, and Westfield had this principle too, making sure that in the morning when you walk the centre in the morning, first up, it was like a mall call we used to call it. And you basically walk around like a customer and have a look.
[00:04:50] Is everything ready for customers to come in at 9 o'clock in the morning? You're always watching the start of how the centre is presented. In a main street, all sorts of things happen. Like I said, overnight, people [00:05:00] do things and they I met Brendan Moore, one of my favourite, problems was actually people putting, soap suds in the fountain.
[00:05:05] Oh, really? So they used to love that because they'd say, how would they react to this? And we actually did come up with, so you can actually put some, liquid in there that actually reverses the process and it turns the suds backwards. It makes them go back and just turn back into water. And so we came up with that idea, but it's just the sort of things that happen.
[00:05:24] That, you've got to be watching. You can't just assume, Oh, that'll be alright. We've set
[00:05:28] it going, it should be right now. Yeah, you've got to make sure. You've got to problem solve a lot more, don't you? Because, yeah, like you said, it's not a set and forget. It's actually an ever evolving beast.
[00:05:41] As a mainstreet, yeah, and you've got to be able to adapt. So I think one of those things that you've talked about in your book as well is about, having some strategies around how to Not always, not only just be, managing a main street, but also being a part of it. So as a [00:06:00] retailer, maybe can you just break down a few of those sort of strategies as well?
[00:06:04] Like what sort of things can you, yeah, especially small and medium sized businesses in main streets, what can they do if they're not the main controller of the main street, they're part of the mix?
[00:06:15] I think being active, and working, and I think we've really learned now that collaboration and partnerships, forming, teams is really important.
[00:06:23] Back in, 2012, Mary UK was commissioned by the Prime Minister of the UK to actually look at all the high streets and say, what's the problem here? We've got vacancies coming up, what's going on, the streets are in trouble. She did this really extensive. A lot of research and came
[00:06:40] back.
[00:06:40] We've got a TV show about that. Yeah,
[00:06:43] she's got a really high profile. And she came back and said, the first thing is you've got to form teams together and you can't do it individually. So the retailers need to be working with this, the property owners have to be part of this and the councils have got to be part of it.
[00:06:57] And that was a really interesting sort of [00:07:00] direction to say, form teams that are working together in a partnership. So that's definitely, I've found that here in Australia, definitely the same thing. We've got to get teams to work together.
[00:07:10] And that's it, and you would have seen in your time as well of, auditing and assessing main streets and giving them solutions or, plans or ways forward.
[00:07:18] What are some that are working well and some that are, or what things contribute to, oiled main streets that can handle the challenges to ones that don't.
[00:07:29] I think the, it's interesting because what I did early in the piece was I thought, I've got to look and see what sort of groups are around who are doing this sort of work.
[00:07:38] And I came across the Association of Town Centre Management in the UK and Main Street America, in the States. And their mantra really was really good that I've stuck to since I found it was basically looking at the governance of the main street, like who's responsible and who's working together.
[00:07:54] Yeah.
[00:07:55] What's the marketing and promotional activity that's going on? Who's working on [00:08:00] trying to improve the business mix and trying to fill those vacancies? And what is the streetscape like? And if you put those four elements together, they've all got to work. You can't just say, oh we've got a really great main street because we're very organised.
[00:08:13] You've also got to be active with the marketing and promotion. And you've got to be working towards trying to fill vacancies and try to attract new businesses. So it's really a combination of those four elements. That come together and then the streets that are doing best, really the ones that are very active in all four areas, not just are we really good at marketing or are we really good at streetscape.
[00:08:35] And
[00:08:35] often councils start with streetscape and that's fine, but they actually say, use, use trees. White footpaths, trees,
[00:08:42] seating places, communal areas that, you know, and artworks and things like that. Yes. That's a very, I think that's what, one thing that people see is the quick fix and that high level, easy to see progress being made on.
[00:08:56] And visible. And visible, that's it. But the other ones are certainly, [00:09:00] they take more time and work and like you said, probably councils leading that way but also working to empower everybody in that partnership to actually contribute because it can't be one person's role, it's a shared responsibility.
[00:09:16] All the small businesses putting in together to work together, is a really good example of the way to go forward. Here in, in Tanunda, for example, if you compare like, Wallis are very active, they're very active in the media. And if we had say another 15, 20 businesses that actually supported that marketing program, all together as a stream, you'd have a much more powerful program.
[00:09:37] And I think that's where we've gone. We've got to really pick up the pace because I think the shopping centres are very organised, they have big marketing funds, and main streets can just have a small marketing fund but if they're working together they can get some really good results.
[00:09:50] They can have a bigger
[00:09:50] impact can't they?
[00:09:52] And yeah, have you got some towns that are in within SA that you think are doing a great job of that or working towards [00:10:00] that? Yeah. Whether you've been working with them, in your consulting business or that you've seen on your travels, because I know you like to visit Main Streets and look at all of these aspects, and you drag your, take your wife overseas and make her at Main Streets too.
[00:10:13] Yeah, I tell her that she's going shopping, but it's actually me going, Ooh, that's a free title. One, one example that's come up quite a bit is I've done a bit of work in Riverland and Loxton are doing a really good job and they've got a very active business group that the business is a part of and they're doing some really good work in partnership with Council.
[00:10:29] Yeah. And there's a bit of a standout I've found, in Adelaide in the CBD, Norwood, so the parade at Norwood, the Council is a very active Council and they are a very sort of business friendly Council. And they've had a lot of development happen there. They've got a great shopping centre in the middle of the main street there with the food lamp.
[00:10:47] And they, I found them a very good example to highlight. One thing they do have though is that they have a marketing fund of 220, 000 that they, they do all their promotions and activity. [00:11:00] If you look up their website, the Parade Norwood, it's a fantastic website. Yeah. It covers all the different elements of the street.
[00:11:06] Yeah, and we just recently had the Main Street SA conference, hosted by, the City of, so was it Payneham, St Peter's? Norwood, Payneham, St Peter's. Norwood, Payneham, St Peter's. And the City of Unley, and it was really interesting to see how, I think, I was impressed by how progressive the council was and involved in.
[00:11:26] You're taking that leave, and that's not always the case, but it's really good to see that there's leaders out there that were really, I felt that they were in tune with what the business owners needed as well, working and seeing what their role was as council to engage the land owners, the landlords as well.
[00:11:45] Because that can be a tricky situation. Tricky combinations, aren't it?
[00:11:49] Yes, because you've got two parts to council. You've basically got the elected members and then you've got the administration who are trying to deliver programs on the ground. That's it. And sometimes elected members might make decisions that are not [00:12:00] popular so then the property owner may not want to work with you.
[00:12:02] That's it, yeah. So it is a tricky balance. What they've found overseas is creating some independent business groups that then are just that little bit length away from council that then takes that political aspect out of it, and they can that
[00:12:14] the business improvement,
[00:12:15] business improvement areas.
[00:12:17] Business improvement districts. Yeah. And they're bringing them to Australia now. They New South Wales called Community Improvement District. Yeah. But that works well, just that little bit of independence Yes. Takes the political part away. And nor would've done that quite well in that they've got a very good, business partnership there that they work with.
[00:12:33] But see, when councils get voted in, they have. The members get in and they've got their, things they're trying to achieve. They're trying to achieve certain objectives. It may not necessarily line up with the business objectives because the businesses are very focused on foot traffic, more marketing that brings more people, higher profile for the street and presenting a really strong brand.
[00:12:53] And that's a little bit different to council's objectives. Often they're looking at, growth and economic development that it might be bringing in a really big [00:13:00] employer to the area, which is lovely and the benefits will flow to the street. But the businesses can't be running around trying to chase, corporations from Sydney and Melbourne to bring them together.
[00:13:09] It's a whole separate job.
[00:13:11] And also then in regional areas you've got some other aspects that Council are working with as well. So you've got, agricultural, agendas as well. So you can understand how sometimes town main streets can get missed because they're going okay and there's other things to worry about.
[00:13:28] But I guess, yes, Icky, from what you've seen in your travels around as well, what are some maybe challenges that are facing small businesses today in those sort of, along that main street, and town and regional areas? So what sort of challenges can you see in maybe some ways forward?
[00:13:44] I think one of the biggest ones that's come is probably, I think COVID exacerbated it by, People staying really close to home and the employment changed a lot. So a lot of the retailers have been troubled, particularly hospitality. They're trying to get workers to actually work in their [00:14:00] restaurants and cafes.
[00:14:01] And that's still going through a process at the moment. And the government is really trying to get people to come back to the regional areas. But that's happening all over. We, when we were recently in the UK and we talked to a couple of hotel owners and they said, we're back here working in the bar because we just can't get people back.
[00:14:17] Is there maybe less international travel as well and less international people working as well? That sort of holiday visa, working holiday visa kind of thing which is quite prominent. Brexit. Brexit
[00:14:29] hurt them a lot because they were getting Polish workers and Colombian workers and people from Europe would come in and work in all the bars and hotels and of course they changed the rules there.
[00:14:39] And their passports are not the same anymore. America is saying the same sort of thing is that they, with their main streets in the country in regional areas that they recently did a survey and they said that most of the businesses in the main street like around 80 percent come from local people wanting to set up a new business and get it running and they said you've got to really nurture your innovation and your [00:15:00] little unique businesses and independence to get them started in the main street
[00:15:04] yeah
[00:15:04] so that really makes the character of the main street where shopping centers focus very much on chain stores and brands Whereas the main street focuses more on independence.
[00:15:13] And unique aspects of, what does each, each shop or each stall bring to it. So I think that's one.
[00:15:18] area that I know we're really keen on is making sure that you're unique in your offering and you're proud of it and that you talk about that because again in a main street you don't necessarily, you don't want all of the chain stores and you don't want noir and you don't want beige, you want little pockets of discovery and things like that.
[00:15:36] So I think that's probably also a challenge coming out of COVID as well is maybe that little bit of a loss of some confidence in Uniqueness and is it going to work? So
[00:15:49] yeah.
[00:15:50] And that's where, perhaps having some more, whether it's a formal business group, but having some of those, I think, does it only do it, with new businesses, they have a welcome [00:16:00] pack.
[00:16:01] They have a welcome pack for the new businesses. Yeah. What did they do to make sure that there was that? support network around them as they start up. Because it can all be very exciting to start with and then after three months it can all fall. The excitement and the tiredness kicks in.
[00:16:18] I think what Mildura have done, they've got a group called City Heart. And it's a really successful group and I've done a lot of work with them and having a look at how they deliver their programs. And they've got some really good, they start off basically by bringing the businesses together to work and have some input into the plans for what the street is going to move forward.
[00:16:37] So a strategic plan, but also a business plan for the year. But they do, when a business arrives, they welcome them to the street, the CBD. People got a chance to look up City Heart in Mildura. It's a very good example. But again, they're just taking a proactive approach to how do we deliver programs and represent the businesses with a single voice.
[00:16:56] Let them have a say. As opposed to, here's what's going [00:17:00] to happen. Yeah, good
[00:17:01] luck, pay your rent on time and so on. You want to have that in, the active involvement from the smaller business owners because that will contribute to a bigger, better, more holistic, main street offering for visitors and your locals alike.
[00:17:16] There's a lot of
[00:17:16] programs around the country. Victoria's got about 80 or 90 main street programs. Yeah. From Bridge Street, down to Geelong, they've got all sorts of programs. They've been doing main streets for a long time and managing them. And there's some really good programs there as well.
[00:17:30] Yeah. So Australia's got some goodies, but there's some good country ones, but also Victoria does some really good work. But it comes back to the same thing. It comes back to that working together. How do we make sure that, we're bringing all those independent businesses together? And, to work as a team.
[00:17:44] And as you said, both having a really clear idea and a I think you've highlighted in your book, which is really, I've found even as a retailer, was really helpful in looking at those four, four countries. really of what's going to make a mainstream because we tried to, [00:18:00] reinvigorate that's another business group, which was just before COVID and it made it quite difficult to get that engagement because as you said, people went into the their shells and we're in survival mode, which was, understandable, but it was really hard then to get back out of it as well, because so we'd never got the group going because it wasn't a paid group, it was volunteer.
[00:18:18] So I think there's, like you said, being clear on who does what, so who's responsible for what, but then accepting that responsibility to go forward, is probably key to making that main street a success.
[00:18:31] Yes, they've all got their roles, and some people might say, what do we want from the property owners?
[00:18:36] The property owners, we really want them to present their properties really well. So then they get a better retailer in there, or business in there anyway. But we want the buildings to be painted, frequently, maintained, so they look really good. Shopping centres just know this because they know that every 5 to 7 years, they make the retailer upgrade their shop.
[00:18:55] So that it becomes more modern and makes the whole centre [00:19:00] better because you don't let anything fall behind. And I know that when I was down in Marion back before they did the development with the cinemas, was that they weren't getting the retailers to upgrade their shops because they said, Will you just wait because we're going to demolish this whole section here.
[00:19:13] There's going to be some new things happening there. And it was really interesting to see how the centre started to look really poor. Because people said that the impression is not great. It was terrible. So that's a really important part of it. So trying to encourage,
[00:19:27] incentivise, incentivise land rules as well is a tricky one.
[00:19:31] So that's probably where councils can have a bit of input in, Incentivizing 'cause it will benefit the main street. It will benefit the retailers, it will
[00:19:41] shop front improvement program. So really they're, quite active in a number of places around the state. And I think Victor Harbor's got one and Jamestown did a lot of work on their facades.
[00:19:52] And it's a really important part and basically all of this that the council's put forth some funding, but it's only facilitating, [00:20:00] other activities. So it makes the property. Go and get some quotes for some painting, maybe some repairs, and then they do one for, dollar for dollar, with the property owner, and the council is actually supportive.
[00:20:10] And these programs are very successful, and it has a big impact on how the street looks. In the UK, we were in Ireland, going back there, and some of their main streets were absolutely so fantastic, because they painted each building differently. And, I can send you some images of those, that we can put up, to show you, one building might be blue, and then it's a red one, an orange, and it just has, this is a bright main street, it's really good, as opposed to just dull, and
[00:20:35] gutters
[00:20:35] falling off, and things like that.
[00:20:37] Putting a bit of effort in, makes a lot of difference.
[00:20:40] Because then you've got, you've got tenants who are trying to put their best foot forward as well, and showcase their business, and if it's in a run down building, then that's not, it's not a good partnership. It's like here we're
[00:20:49] sitting today in Nosh Cafe.
[00:20:51] Now it's very unique and the presentation of the street is very good. But you come inside and it's like very unique. You're not going to find anything like this anywhere near a shopping centre. [00:21:00] But I think it's fantastic. Yeah, I'll
[00:21:03] put some photos up as well. Cause yes, it's in an old mill building I think.
[00:21:08] And I think, yeah, harnessing those unique qualities. Like you don't want cookie cutter, you don't want beige, but you want something that's representative of you and your business or the area, but also we want to put our best foot forward. We don't want to, we want to make sure that it's, it's clean and it's, welcoming and it's got a good feel because it's got a really good vibe, hasn't it?
[00:21:28] Like it's really cool. Yes, it's wonderful. Looking ahead, what trends do you see will shape the future of retail and main street businesses, particularly in regional areas? Just because that's what I focus, my focus. But that's what I found really interesting about the Main Street SA conference was that even though we were in the city and there were city councils and city main streets, there were so many, things that are applicable in regional and town areas.
[00:21:52] What will, yeah, what sort of trends or what do you think will shape, The future of Main Streets in the next couple, maybe five years.
[00:21:59] Yep, I [00:22:00] think building those unique brands and saying, what does the Main Street stand for? So to get to that, you need to be, doing proper research and I think, and understanding what the customer's thinking because they're changing all the time and the views have changed dramatically since COVID.
[00:22:14] And I think, one of the things that, Main Streets do around some of the states more than others is, They make sure they do qualitative research and quantitative research. So they're actually asking what do people actually think of the mainstreet? What is your first impression? So if you say something like, Tanunda, what do people think of?
[00:22:30] And is it, you can't say just broadly, but I'll say, what is Tanunda in particular? And I think it's making sure that those brands, stand out.
[00:22:40] Yeah.
[00:22:40] And finding out. And it can be as
[00:22:41] easy as just setting up the survey on a weekend and asking people if they want to, or putting something out online as well.
[00:22:47] So it can be quite, I think we did that in there with the Toronto Business Group. We put out, surveys to start to get some quantitative responses as well. Help businesses need, but also [00:23:00] maybe how they felt after an event and what, so we can actually start to get some information. to help going further.
[00:23:06] So they're things that, Google Forms is, or Survey Monkey, they're really cheap and easy to set up. So you're finding out what the customer wants and thinks.
[00:23:15] Yes.
[00:23:15] Because they're your target audience, is important.
[00:23:18] Yeah.
[00:23:19] And then also, perhaps as, particularly now as retail businesses are, find it hard to put traffic and spend.
[00:23:29] What are some strategies that they can put in place to, Help them survive and then be sustained through the next, couple of years. Because we will be coming out of the current climate. That's, it's quite cyclical, like it will happen. Yes, yep. What things can they put in place and use it as a, what, as an opportunity?
[00:23:47] I think they need to be focused on, segmenting the market. Having a look at local, who are their customers like, their customers are local, living here, near a local town or regional town. But then who was they trying to [00:24:00] attract? So there's the larger regional area, so maybe other towns that are up to 100km away, something like that.
[00:24:05] And if, if you've got a strong enough brand and you've got a strong enough message, you can bring people from those other locations. And then looking at the overall state and saying, when tourists arrive and visitors, why should they come here? What, what are you offering? What does it stand for?
[00:24:19] So I think that's really important is having a clear message of where you're going. But then I was doing different things. Retailers and businesses working together will be a stronger marketing message and a stronger promotional effort. And one that's consistent. You can't really do it alone because you just haven't got the firepower to do it.
[00:24:35] And if you're going to really have, be visible in the market, you've got to be out there with some really strong messages and working together.
[00:24:42] Yeah.
[00:24:42] So that's
[00:24:43] it. That, yeah, that overall, that bigger, that group together will be stronger than the individuals alone, won't they? And that conforming. It doesn't have to be a formal association.
[00:24:53] It can be as much as a Facebook group for your town traders and say, Hey, here's where we're going to communicate [00:25:00] together. We might send some surveys out. We'll share some marketing resources. It could be as simple as that. And that's, I guess going forward, that's probably the support to look forward with each other.
[00:25:13] Speak from each other as well. But we all have a part to play, because I think then, sometimes in regional towns there's a, that's not my job, that's the council's job, or that's for someone else to organise, and I guess the way forward is to make sure everyone accepts that responsibility, isn't it?
[00:25:32] With the business plan having clear roles, and you were saying before about the role that is really, what is the role of council, what is the role of the business group? It's not up to just any one individual group. And I think the other thing that's happened is things like, as we move through the digital age, I think originally, businesses thought, this is really good.
[00:25:48] We can get on Facebook for a very low cost. We can just put up a website, we can get someone to organize that. Very well, I'm not even going to do it myself. So you keep the cost very low. But I think what they're finding now is this [00:26:00] is demanding.
[00:26:00] Yeah, you
[00:26:01] can't just put up a Facebook site and then not put something on it for a month.
[00:26:04] Yeah. Because people just turn you off. So you've gotta be
[00:26:07] maintain it as well, don't you
[00:26:08] continually putting out messages. And this has taken a lot of resources, so I think it's moved. A lot of people said, wow, okay, Facebook and those sort of things need effort and you need someone doing it all the time.
[00:26:19] And having a structured, we need strategy.
[00:26:22] Strategy around it, don't you? Yeah.
[00:26:23] You can't just just shoot a message out. It's gotta be consistent with who are you talking to? Yeah. And are they engaged or. It takes a lot of work. Some of the businesses in main streets have been putting out something every day, continuously putting out messages.
[00:26:37] Now, it may annoy some people, but you've got to engage your audience. And they will be watching their audience to see if they're still listening and watching. It's really important.
[00:26:46] And I guess just to finish off, what kind of, or what, who would your, like I know that, yeah, I found I got a lot of insights out of your book.
[00:26:55] What sort of things could people find in there to help them get on their way as opposed [00:27:00] to, improving or, building up their main street, and retail, sector?
[00:27:04] What I try to cover in the book is, the benefits of being organised together. And I've put in examples from New Zealand and some from America and just talking about that businesses are willing to be part of something, but they need to be able to drive it as well and have a say in their destiny.
[00:27:18] So that's a really key part of it. The other thing I put in there is some really cost effective promotions and activities that you can do that won't cost you the world to get out there and actually talk to your customers. But I definitely think the The trend of people working together is really happening all around the world now.
[00:27:35] It's been, it particularly started one of these groups, business improvement area groups. They started in Toronto. And the reason they started was because they said, the council's spending money over there, the government's spending money there, who's going to spend money on our main street? And they said, why don't we put in something and create our own little fund?
[00:27:50] And they started with this 40, 000 putting on promotions and activities and making the street look really fantastic. Yeah. And then they just kept on growing. It's been going [00:28:00] for 50 odd years, one of the greatest. And
[00:28:01] actually you can just start small, can't you? It doesn't have to be a massive, big, multi million dollar investment.
[00:28:06] It can just be small and organised. Yes. Yep.
[00:28:09] And investment will attract more investment. And I think that's the thing that we actually find. Once you've got a business group running and you're starting to spend some money, you can then attract some sponsors to support you. Okay. And then you can actually get additional funding that comes in because you're starting to do some activities to make things happen.
[00:28:26] But people are not going to come to you unless you're actually doing something. So you
[00:28:30] can't sit and wait and then somebody says here's the money to do something like, yeah, it's being active and starting small and have that snowball effect.
[00:28:39] Yes. Yeah. And I think having an active group who are out there actually chasing sponsorship and getting those things to happen.
[00:28:45] It can happen, but you just start small, and work together, and work out a plan, have a basic plan, it just starts to get some things on the road.
[00:28:54] And how can people find support as well in, so you're the chair of Main Street SA, so how can they [00:29:00] find support there, and that, and who do you have within your membership, there?
[00:29:05] Yeah, so the Main Street SA is made up basically, we started back in 2011, so we formed as a, an incorporated association back in 2011 after a national conference and the idea was to really bring best practices to South Australia and to actually show the Main Street what's happening in other parts of the world.
[00:29:22] And so what we've done is we've gone back over some of our really key speakers over the years and we've put, ten, podcasts, Zoom interviews with them on, online now, so we're a Main Street SA website. And we'll be producing some more of those. So the key thing, I think, there is to log on to themainstreetsa.
[00:29:37] com Have a look at it, and you'll see speakers from the UK, New Zealand, Sweden, all over who talk about how they got their main streets to work and how they got their town centres to work. So it's a really good resource.
[00:29:49] Yeah, sharing other ideas of, and that's the thing of seeing what has worked and going, we could do that, and having those ideas.
[00:29:55] And you also have an annual conference.
[00:29:57] Have an annual conference. Which
[00:29:59] was really, [00:30:00] so I attended that the other week and that was really, a really great opportunity for lots of shared, ideas and learnings, with all of those different parts. That's particularly something that I think, councils should get active, involved in to give them some more, inspiration to be part of their main street revitalisation.
[00:30:18] yeah, so a lot of our members of Mace RSA are councils. And it gives them access to a lot of resources. And we bring the best of the best. speakers
[00:30:27] here
[00:30:27] Yeah. And they can actually hear them and be a part of it and get their economic development team to come along and be a part of it.
[00:30:32] Yeah. So councillors can really be educated by all this information that is not always available easily to them. Yeah. We can bring it to them, yeah.
[00:30:43] And even as a small business owner I found it really interesting as well to understand what my part is in in contributing to Main Street. Yeah, really worthwhile.
[00:30:51] There's some really great resources there. Excellent. So thank you very much for your time. And I'll pop the link to your book on the on the post as well. And yeah, encourage people to, to [00:31:00] look you up and look up Main Street SA as well. And make sure, yeah, you talk to David about your Main Street and how you can actually help put a plan in place for that, yeah, Main Street sort of revitalization.
[00:31:12] Thank you for your time. Thank you for the opportunity. Thanks, Shelley. ā€‹Thanks for listening to the Regional Collective. We hope you've picked up some great ideas to help your business thrive in your regional community. Ready for more? Join our membership for weekly support and resources tailored just for small businesses like yours. Stay in the loop, subscribe to our YouTube channel or follow us on Spotify so you don't miss a thing.
[00:31:41] Keep growing, keep thriving and let's build stronger regions together. See you next time.
