By Prealene Khera and Kaija Du
Indigenous residents in Brimbank will receive crucial support to help them take their business idea to the next level through a free intensive program in March.
In partnership with Brimbank council, Indigenous Business Australia (IBA) is hosting a workshop for eligible participants who want to increase their knowledge of business fundamentals and take a step towards business ownership.
To be eligible to attend one of IBA’s business workshops, locals must be of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent, be attending with an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person, or representing an Indigenous business.
Main discussions in the workshop will be centred around whether participants are ready to go into business, the risks, benefits, and challenges of doing so, and what their reasoning is for taking it on.
The workshop also answers questions from the community about business terminology, how IBA can help with business processes, obligations, marketing and finances, IBA senior manager Tara Toohill said.
“These workshops are suitable for people at any stage of the business life cycle — from idea, preparation, through to start-up, growth and maturity,” she said.
“Participants will be able to workshop through scenarios and ideas to better inform their business journey.”
The workshop is part of the ‘Local jobs for Local People’ initiative run by council to increase job availability.
Latest data shows Brimbank suffers from an unemployment rate of about 6.5 per cent, which is higher than the Victorian and Melbourne Metropolitan Region average.
Council’s initiative is designed to help the community and influence better local employment outcomes to combat high unemployment.
Programs like the ‘Your Business & IBA’ workshop achieve this by providing the community with the skills needed to be financially stable or employed, Ms Toohill said.
“IBA works to provide Indigenous Australians with economic development opportunities,” she said.
For the partnership with Brimbank council they have taken a different approach, with an interactive in-person two-and-a-half-hour structure rather than their typical online programs. This allows hands-on help to create a purpose statement, SWOT (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat) analysis and work through some case studies that come up when starting a business.
Details: iba.gov.au/business/business-skills-workshops/
