May 2009
	Town of Bassendean 48 Old Perth Road Bassendean  WA  6054 PO Box 87 Bassendean  WA  6934 Tel: Fax: Email: Web: (08) 9377 8000 (08) 9279 4257 mail@bassendean.wa.gov.au www.bassendean.wa.gov.au		In This Issue Introduction Friday Coffee @ 8.30am Bassendean Means Business Forum Awards and Seminars The Mystery of Shopping? Survive and Thrive in Difficult Times On the Net

Introduction Welcome to my first Bassendean Business newsletter. I have taken up the reigns as Economic Development Officer since early April and I am building on the extensive work of my predecessor, Bob Gray who is now expanding his consultancy work and putting his stamp on the economic development of the City of Swan. My background is in the Hospitality and Tourism sector. I originally hale from the green fields of Ireland but for the last 20 years in Australia I have enjoyed managing operations in Melbourne and running my own place for 10 years in NSW. I joined Local Government here in WA six years ago. I am a Dockers fan and I'm becoming quickly introduced to WAFL and Swan Districts! I personally subscribe to newsletters with some trepidation! Their increasing popularity can turn them into spam. So I will endeavour to keep these communications lean and as interesting and relevant as possible. Friday Coffee @ 8.30am Getting your feedback and support is central to Economic Development in the region and I'd like to hear your ideas in person.  Can you meet me for a coffee? Every Friday from 1 June I'll meet for a coffee at 8.30am. Initially I'll be at Hedgehogs Cafe on Old Perth Road. Just an informal arrangement to meet up and get to understand the issues and realities which are happening. If you've got a little time, I'd really appreciate the opportunity to say hello. I'll also meet up over at a lunch bar in the Tonkin Industrial Park in due course. Of-course, feel free to write to me if you prefer. Any suggestions on items to cover in the newsletter or anything to contribute please send it in to me on my email address: wbarry@bassendean.wa.gov.au. Bassendean Means Business Forum On Wednesday 13 May 2009, the Town hosted a forum which brought together landholders within the Bassendean Town Centre and nine of WA's top property development companies. The aim was to kick-start the implementation of the Council's Town Centre Area Strategy. The Strategy presents a revitalised Town Centre allowing mixed residential and commercial opportunities. It involves simultaneous consideration of environmental, social and economic impacts, and balancing these to create a sustainable future. The strategy promotes initiatives for the "main street" pedestrian retail area adjacent to the railway. Against a backdrop of growing unemployment figures and economic uncertainty this event successfully attracted over 40 attendees who were evenly split between the town centre landholders and developers and they were supported by industry bodies and state organizations including Landcorp, Property Council and UDIA. The conference was hosted at Hofmann Engineering. Setting the forum away from the Council and in commercial surroundings complimented the overall message of the meeting: "Bassendean Means Business" and the Council?s enthusiasm and support to see change happen and development to occur. The Councillors were not present at the seminar, recognising that the Council's role as the approval body would be a conflict of interest, but developers were presented with an overview of the Town Centre area, and the range of both private and council owned opportunities that exist within Old Perth Road and adjacent areas. Additionally, delegates were provided with a detailed map of the town centre clearly identifying the landholders. The beauty of this forum was that those same landholders were there in person and developers took advantage to meet and introduce themselves. Initiating the revitalization of the Town Centre is built on creating relationships and generating trust and that is what this forum achieved. I have received reports of landholders meeting some developers since the forum so I look forward to hearing of fresh submissions being received for developments in our Town! Awards and Seminars Trying to turn the current economic struggle into a positive is frequently stated and promoted. But how to fight back and resist the option of cutting services and inventory is a real challenge. One suggestion is to seek out free publicity through entering Awards. For example the Austrade 2009 WA Industry and Export Awards. This prestigious Award has been launched on Tuesday 26th March. They offer FREE publicity through various media and you get the recognition you deserve for your efforts.  Click here for details. Central Eastern Business Association (CEBA) are holding their Inaugural Business Awards this year. Categories include Small Business of the Year, Best Retail Business, Best Service Based Business, Best Commerce and Industry Business, Best Home Based Business and Best New Business. The closing date for applications is 2 June. You can go to their web site which has all the details. The Mystery of Shopping? Trying to look after customers never goes out of fashion but unfortunately, as recently widely reported, some businesses get caught out with giving bad service. A great initiative of the Small Business Centre East Metro has been to organise Mystery Shoppers. Its where unannounced shoppers contact a business and test their response to their enquiries. They sometimes visit the premises but they can also do it over the phone. You then get honest and frank feedback (ouch I hear you say!) yes, you get the details in all its raw beauty.  But they don't leave you there; this initiative is supported with short courses on delivering better service! The results are very impressive, I promise you. This has been so successful that they are currently planning to offer a second round starting in June.  Check out SBC East Metro web site where you will soon find details of this and other activities they are running. The local Business associations are all working over time to deliver assistance and ideas to handle the recession. At CEBA where they have recently hosted a breakfast with Kate Lamont (Chair of Tourism Western Australia) we are planning a networking event here in Bassendean. Approximate date is middle to late August and when the details are finalised I will advise you accordingly.

Survive and Thrive in Difficult Times The Downturn: Threat or Opportunity in Manufacturing? Date: Tuesday 9th June 2009 Time: 12.30pm to 4.30pm A free workshop that will assist businesses to create PRACTICAL plans to strengthen their organisation and encourage them to look for opportunities. WHK Group, national financial services/business accounting consultantssecured Federal funding through 'Enterprise Connect' to create thisevent and are is touring it to all the major centres around the country. Targeted to small to medium size operations, it will be held at 2 Brodie Hall Dr, Technology Park, Bentley WA 6102 on 9th June, they advise that the workshop will be practical, interactive and action oriented. They emphasise that it is not a "talk-fest" - and that anyone interested in running their business better in any circumstances will benefit, especially as they will take away materials, software and an action plan. For more details click here for the PDF flyer or go to the  Towns web site here. Please direct any queries on the workshop to Owen Tilbury at: owen.tilbury@whk.com.au or phone him on (03) 6334 0306. Just around the corner and beyond are some events you might put on the radar. On 1st & 2nd August is the Avon Descent. As a White Water event it attracts one of the biggest prize money purses in the world and in recent years it has attracted in excess of 100,000 spectators. As details come to hand I will pass on any initiatives which you can take advantage of. What plans do you have for Christmas? The Christmas period can mark a major opportunity to engage with customers. We are starting to toss some ideas around here. If you want to offer some ideas please feel free to get in touch. We will be keeping you informed as plans start to materialise. On the Net While I may treat e-newsletters with caution, I am constantly amazed at the range and quality of websites that you can link into on the web. If and when I find sites that stand out in some way and offer good advice and ideas to build and strengthen your business I'll be passing them on. This month I have come across Retail Smart. Coming out of Sydney it is current and diverse. It promotes the latest trends and ideas and is really passionate about good Customer Service with many case studies and stories. It covers everything to do with individual retailers and the businesses that supply them.