North Coast

No power, no problem this storm season

Bushfires. Pandemic. Now a La Niña weather event causing violent storms and damaging floods.
Business already struggling have been dealt constant disruption to their power supply.
But those like Kyogle tattoo artist Kate Witter, who invested in a small petrol-run generator for her business, have peace of mind knowing their business power supply is backed up.
“Power is critical to my business because I need it for my computers and my machines. I can’t stop halfway through inking a tattoo, but you never know when a blackout is going to happen.
“Now I try to keep ahead of what could happen by having a backup source of power.”
Northern NSW business owners across eleven LGAs can learn that and other lessons by taking part in the free Business Community Resilience (BCR) Toolkit pilot program.
Delivered by corporate2community, a social enterprise committed to building resilience in all businesses (big and small), the 26-module program helps business owners and operators take small steps to build resilience in any size and type of business.

Sign up at https://grants.corporate2community.com/.
 
Northern region toolkit co-ordinator Emma Wallace says: “The eighth module helps businesses realise the importance of power and prepare for an outage.
“It’s easy to take it for granted that power will always be available. These days, there’s not much we can do without power – run machinery or equipment, charge our devices and literally keep the lights on.”
Tattoo artist Kate knew she could not afford that risk.
The generator investment wasn’t expensive yet provides valuable safety and security for customers as well as Kate.
 “If the power goes out for more than half an hour it can hurt the customer more to come back to finish the work,’’ she says. “There is also at least four weeks’ healing time before a customer can come back for me to work on it again.
“Having the generator provides me with peace of mind that I can continue working when there’s a power outage and I won’t suffer from any loss of business.”
 
BCR Toolkit Module 8 – No Power, No Problem is out Wednesday January 12.
 
The BCR Toolkit helps business owners and operators take small steps towards setting their business up for success – by asking two yes or no questions and providing simple tips.
It’s not too late to sign up to the free program. Every module has small steps to help you learn how to run or operate your business so it’s more successful and efficient in the good times – and helps you prepare for the next disaster to come.
The free BCR Toolkit pilot program runs until October 2022. The program is funded via the joint-funded NSW and Commonwealth Government Bushfire Community Recovery and Resilience Fund (BCRRF). The program is free to any person from all businesses operating across Armidale, Ballina, Byron, Clarence Valley, Kyogle, Lismore, Nambucca, Richmond Valley, Tenterfield, Tweed, Uralla.
Each fortnight a new module is released to help business owners and operators build resilience. Past modules include: 80/20 Rule, 3 Revenue Streams and Supply Chains, Linchpin, Internet Connection, Little Black Box and Next-Door Saviour. Data collected during the BCR Toolkit program is shared with local working group representatives including councils and business chambers to support local learning and future funding outreaches.
 
Register at https://grants.corporate2community.com/ to access past modules.

About the BCR Toolkit Project:
 
The Business Community Resilience (BCR) Toolkit is a FREE pilot program available to all businesses within Armidale, Ballina, Byron, Clarence Valley, Kyogle, Lismore, Nambucca, Richmond Valley, Tenterfield, Tweed, Uralla.
Businesses can register at: https://grants.corporate2community.com/
Delivered by social enterprise corporate2community via grant funding from the joint-funded NSW and Commonwealth Government Bushfire Community Recovery and Resilience Fund (BCRRF), the project releases fortnightly modules focused on building resilience to benefit businesses and business communities.
 

About corporate2community (C2C):


is a certified social enterprise and leader in business community disaster resilience, focused on building resilient businesses, helping communities thrive and leading collaborations. C2C builds long-term relationships with government, corporates, SMEs and communities across Australia and around the world.

Project Funding:

This is a Bushfire Community Recovery and Resilience Fund project through the joint Commonwealth/ State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements. Although funding for this product has been provided by both the Australian and NSW Governments, the material contained herein does not necessarily represent the views of either government.