Business Support

You need:

• a supportive environment to start a new business
• affordable business premises
• ongoing assistance on business start-up and management
• a willing workforce
• a wide range of training and development options for staff

The Wimmera.  Everything you need.

The Wimmera is home to many small and medium-sized businesses which have thrived in a supportive and affordable environment.

Whether servicing local, national or international markets, Wimmera businesses are well connected and have competitive advantages in:

• affordability of land and office space
• direct transport links to major cities
• a local community who will give their support to new business who are ‘having a go’.

The Wimmera’s major towns all have business peak bodies, and all of the Wimmera’s Councils all have economic development teams ready to assist you.

Regional Development Victoria has a strong presence in the Wimmera and has a track record of assisting business to expand their markets and take advantage of Government assistance for regional and rural businesses.

The Wimmera Business Centre helps start-up businesses with training and support, office space and administration.

Stepping stone to business

Wimmera Business Centre has provided a stepping stone to the business world for many small businesses in the region. Managers Rachel Hateley and Caylie Price said the centre, based in Darlot Street, Horsham, aimed to provide a nurturing environment to support small business growth in the region. It offers tenancy and support services to home-based and new businesses. Rachel said the centre could support small business with subsidised rent and utility costs in 14 offices as well as business mentoring services. The centre can offer businesses a home for up to three years.

Rachel said the first three years were often a time of high expense and low income as a business established. Wimmera Business Centre aims to provide help and support during this critical time. She said that when all available office space in the centre was occupied, centre staff would help small and establishing businesses find other low-cost office space, where possible. Rachel said that since establishing in 1997, under the auspices of Horsham Rural City Council, the centre had been able to help a range of businesses. This includes home-based businesses which needed a stepping stone to take their businesses to the next level, businesses which were just starting and relocating or expanding businesses which needed short-term tenancy to test their viability in the commercial world. The centre will provide free help and support to anyone wanting to learn more about starting a business, improving an existing business, business planning, financial planning and marketing. It can also arrange business health checks and coaching sessions. Wimmera Business Centre: Phone (03) 5381 0300 Email:   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Website:  www.wimmerabusinesscentre.com.au

Hay for global market

Johnson Asahi has been exporting oaten hay from Horsham to many countries throughout the world for the last 15 years. Their products are fed to cattle for milk production, alfalfa and wheaten hay for horse feed and straw for horse bedding. They employ 24 staff and operate 24hrs a day 5 days a week. Skilled Migration has enabled them to achieve greater efficiencies in their manufacturing systems, where in the past they had difficulty in attracting suitably qualified staff locally.

New town, new business

Bronwen Clark arrived in Horsham in early 2009, after many years living and working in Canberra and overseas. She established her public relations business, BCPR, just months after moving to Horsham. “I put a lot of planning into where and how I would start a business, and I was sure that a smaller community would be more supportive than trying to set myself up in a highly competitive and commercial field in Melbourne,” she said.

“People and business in the Wimmera will see someone having a go and they will support you for it. I have found there is a lot of business around for a public relations firm and the work I have been doing is really challenging because if its diversity. I spent many years working on one small issue at a time. These days I can be working for four or five large-scale and diverse projects at the same time, which is really exciting. “I have appreciated the level of trust local organisations have placed in my work, and it has been really rewarding to work on projects that are going to have a long-term and significant impact on the people and businesses in my community. “I have lived and worked in cities both in Australia and Europe. After returning to Australia I was keen to explore country living. I wanted to feel part of a community and get involved in things happening around me. “The Wimmera has certainly delivered that. I have never been so busy socially, nor felt so involved and included”.

Need Links?

Wimmera Business Centre, Horsham

Regional Development Victoria

Horsham Rural City Council

Yarriambiack Shire Council

Hindmarsh Shire Council

West Wimmera Shire Council