In late 2008 Danielle contacted Aub Eardley at the Northern Rivers BEC. She wanted to gain broad business advice about ways to maximise their growth and development in the current economic climate

“Aub was fantastic, he gave excellent general business advice along with up to date industry information on other bakeries” outlined Danielle. “This enabled us to compare our performance against industry standards. We had started planning into the future, however needed Aub’s re-assurance that we were on the right track”.  

With Aub’s assistance, Simon and Danielle are entering 2009 with a firm game plan including the development of new product lines and the targeting of cafe’s and restaurants for their specialised breads.

From Byron Bay comes ‘Buffalo Girl’, a fashion label inspired by American Indian and western cowboy culture. Since she was a young girl Terri Cronin had always created special pieces from leather. Four years ago she began her label, creating and selling her unique handcrafted pieces.

During the last two years Terri has found it difficult to keep up with demand. From belts to bracelets, earrings to leather bags, her range has been admired by fashionistas and celebrities alike with Elle Macpherson, Pink and Olivia Newton-John all proud owners of a Buffalo Girl original.

Terri contacted Aub Eardley at the Northern Rivers BEC when she was struggling with the growth and popularity of Buffalo Girl. She was seeking guidance and direction. Terri was passionate about ensuring that the integrity, craftsmanship and original vision remained with the label. “I was amazed that I was able to access this service for free” she said. “To be able to utilise Aub’s knowledge and experience has been invaluable”.

Aub’s first piece of advice to Terri was to keep it simple. “Terri is constantly approached by shops wishing to distribute her products,” outlined Aub, “however this was not in line with the philosophy of Buffalo Girl and would mean training other people to create goods under the label”. Aub advised Terri to increase the price of her pieces, thereby increasing their exclusivity. This strategy has alleviated the need to employ and train other craftspeople and has allowed Terri to retain total creative control over her products.

This is just the first step in what is going to be a long relationship between Buffalo Girl and the Northern Rivers BEC. Terri plans to talk with Aub on a regular basis as a business mentor. 

Kerry Bugden founded KySaMa Angels in 2000, just as GST was hitting Australian shores. An experienced book-keeper, Kerry found herself bored at home and wanting to get back into the workforce.

What began as a one off job helping a friend set up their business and books quickly grew as word spread of Kerry’s many skills. Fast-forward eight years, Kerry now operates from an office in Bangalow. She employs two core book-keeping ‘Angels’. She undertakes book-keeping duties for fifty regular clients as well as teaches book-keeping skills to 300 clients.

Kerry had known of the BEC for some time and was prompted to call them after seeing an article on the BEC’s Aub Eardley in the Byron Shire Echo. “I saw Aub’s photo and wanted that man to help me take my business to the next level” said Kerry. “I had been happy with how the business had been travelling but realised I had to make the step up sometime soon”.

Aub has allowed Kerry to see that it is the training and development aspect of her business that is going to make it grow in the long term, not the actual book-keeping service she initially set out to provide.

“Kerry provides an essential service for small business and the real benefit is not just having Kerry do the work but in the way she encourages small businesses to do their own administration” said Aub. “The information that Kerry provides allows business owners to make better management decisions in working ON their business.”

Kerry has seen direct results almost immediately as the result of Aub’s advice and has allowed herself to change where she was directing the business. “To have Aub and his wisdom available for free is fantastic” said Kerry. “There is no way my business could afford to pay for this sort of advice”. Kerry aims to meet with Aub every fortnight on an ongoing basis.

Through face-to-face and telephone consultations with the BEC Cheryl was able to ascertain how much Gourmet Gluten Free Pies was potentially worth. She was then able to confidently commence negotiations with the interested party.

“It is really hard to find the right advice in business” said Chery. “With the BEC I feel I have someone I can fall back on and bounce ideas off – being able to talk whenever I need to has really helped.’”