June 4, 2014
The major reason small businesses join their local Chamber of Commerce is for the networking opportunities it provides, Dalby Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Nick Koenig told Kingaroy Chamber of Commerce & Industry members on Monday night.
Mr Koenig said his group’s experience in Dalby was that it was fairly easy to persuade large businesses to join a local Chamber Of Commerce, but much more difficult to persuade smaller businesses to do so.
To understand why, the DCCI had run a survey a few years ago to ask businesses what they wanted out of their Chamber.
“It turned out that the major attractor that came out in the responses was networking opportunities,” Mr Koenig said.
As a result, the DCCI now hold monthly socials at different local businesses in the Dalby area; business breakfasts with special guest speakers at the Dalby Leagues Club every second month; and has also formed a “Busy Birds Network” group expressly for women which has also proven popular.
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Dalby has about 1400 businesses and 200 of them are now financial members of the DCCI, Mr Koenig said.
This level of support allows the DCCI to have its own full-time offices and employ two full-time staff.
To keep its budget in good shape, the Dalby Chamber also hosts annual Business Excellence Awards; an annual Corporate Golf Day; and has launched an annual “Delicious and Delightful” Festival.
The group also attracted a $200,000 Federal grant two years ago to provide small business advisory services in the Dalby area.
This allows the Chamber to run regular small business workshops and prepare business capability statements for members seeking business in the Surat Basin.
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Mr Koenig was a special guest at the KCCI’s latest Meet & Greet, which was held at the newly opened Lyrics Restaurant at Dandabah in the Bunya Mountains.
KCCI members either drove themselves to the venue or paid $5 to get there in a specially chartered bus.
KCCI President Rod Steele said he’d invited Mr Koenig to address the meeting because he thought it would be useful to hear how a similar group operated, and perhaps get some ideas on initiatives that could be launched in the South Burnett.
The KCCI also decided to hold this particular Meet & Greet in the Bunya Mountains because the KCCI was “all about celebrating success” and the completion of renovations at a keystone business in one of the region’s major tourist attractions was a great example of what the Chamber was all about, he said.
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Lyrics Restaurant co-owner Eleanor Kratzmann told guests she and her husband Wayne had an indirect connection with Dalby because roughly two-thirds of “local” Bunya Mountains visitors came from there, while only one-third came from the South Burnett.
She said this wasn’t the case many years ago, and she thought a major reason for the downturn in local trade was that tourist amenities in the area had been gradually allowed to run down.
So when the couple bought “The Bunyas” in September last year, they made refurbishing and renovating the property – which includes the Bunya Mountains General Store, a cafe, a motel and a restaurant – their top priority.
She said they had sunk “just about every cent” they had into the project, but was proud to be able to say that nearly all of the work and supplies had come from South Burnett businesses.
The only part that hadn’t – some design work – had been carried out by a firm in Dalby.
“We bought locally because we have faith in the quality of work produced by our local businesses and we know that shopping locally really does make a difference,” Wayne said.
“The Bunya Mountains are a special place and we’re lucky to have them in our area.
“For many people, the mountains are their first experience of our region and if it’s a good one, we can encourage them to explore further, spend their money in the South Burnett and then tell their friends.”
The new restaurant will be open Friday and Saturday for dinner, and at other times by special arrangement. It can also cater for small functions of up to 50 people.
The main cafe – Elz Bistro – is open daily from 9:00am to 5:00pm for breakfast, lunch, and morning and afternoon teas; takeaways are also available.
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Swapping his restaurateur hat for his mayoral one, Wayne Kratzmann told the KCCI members that he thought the South Burnett appeared to be getting back to an upswing after the long doldrums caused by the 2013 floods.
“We’re seeing a new motel being built in Kingaroy; the new Taabinga Downs estate which will bring another 200 people to our area; and now Kevin and David Taylor’s Kingaroy North development. These are all great projects,” he said.
The Mayor said he felt there had been “a small but positive change” in the local economy lately, and he looked forward to better times ahead.
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KCCI president Rod Steele thanked members for attending, and reminded them the South Burnett Red Boot Charity Ride would be held on July 27.
The ride is a local version of the annual South-East Queensland Red Boots Ride to raise funds for Ronald McDonald House, which provides free accommodation for family members visiting their sick children in Brisbane hospitals.
Riders will assemble in Murgon to take a day-long tour around the South Burnett. This year their route will pass through Nanango, Maidenwell, the Bunya Mountains and Kingaroy before returning to Murgon.
“This is the only charity I know of where 100 per cent of the funds raised go directly to the people they’re meant to help,” Mr Steele said.
“All the administration costs of running Ronald McDonald Houses are paid by McDonald’s franchisees. So every cent the Red Boot Rides raise goes directly to help the kids and their families.”
Anyone interested in joining this year’s ride – whether a KCCI member or just a member of the general public – can obtain more details by phoning Mark Smith at Mark Smith’s Menswear in Murgon on (07) 4168-1355.
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- The KCCI will hold their next “End Of Month Drinks” session on Friday, June 27 at the Kingaroy Hotel between 5:00pm and 6:30pm.
- The KCCI’s next Meet and Greet will be held at the Southern Cross Radio complex at the corner of Glendon and Alford Streets in Kingaroy at 6:00pm on Monday, July 14.
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