October is Small Business Month in NSW. The Grafton Chamber of Commerce collaborated with the Clarence Valley Council to hold two Small Business Month events at the Grafton District Services Club on Thursday the 19th of October. These events were free to attend and were funded with a grant received from the NSW Government.

The first event was a workshop hosted by the Clarence Valley Council. We started with an introduction by Katee Blizzard, the Acting Industry Engagement Officer at Clarence Valley Council. The workshop, presented by Dan Nikas, was on “Facebook & Instagram Advertising (The Basics)”. Dan, a former detective, had no prior marketing experience when he started his business Elite Brands in Yamba, but by teaching himself how to market his business on Facebook and his ongoing use of the platform he came to the attention of Facebook and is now a Facebook Community Trainer specialising in teaching people how to advertise their own business on social media. It was an interactive and informative presentation with the opportunity to ask questions.  The GDSC put on a fantastic afternoon tea of delicious platters with cheeses, meats, crackers, fruit, and sweet baked goods during the workshop.  We were then served pizza after the workshop. We would like to express our gratitude to Dan for your informative presentation and to the GDSC for your fabulous hospitality!

Following the marketing workshop we went downstairs to where the Grafton Chamber of Commerce were hosting the Business Barefoot Bowls event. Even those of us who had never bowled before were able to participate thanks to two lovely ladies from the GDSC who provided instructions to us on how to bowl and what the basic rules were, as well as setting up and packing away the equipment for us. The event couldn’t have happened without them and we appreciate their help as well as their friendliness, patience, and good humour. The bowling was a lot of fun, a great chance to meet and chat to new people from the business community, and there was a bit of friendly rivalry as well. We were very lucky with the weather as it was slightly cooler than other days have been lately and we even had a nice breeze blowing so it was quite pleasant. Despite a few of us never having bowled before there were actually a few decent bowls! 

After the bowling a group of us decided to stay on and have dinner. It was a great night and we want to thank the GDSC and all the fabulous staff and helpers. Thank you also to Katee Blizzard and Deb Merritt from CVC for all of your hard work in getting these events up and running.

As we head into Jacaranda Season we’d like to pass on our best wishes to Mark Blackadder and the Grafton Jacaranda Festival Committee as well as all the amazing Jacaranda Festival volunteers.  The Jacaranda Festival is such a massive part of the Grafton calendar and provides a big injection into the local economy. The Jacaranda Festival events held so far – the beginning of Illuminate in See Park and the Jacaranda Ball have both been very successful and it is shaping up to be a fantastic Jacaranda Festival!

Best wishes also to all the local businesses participating in the “Go Floral” business competitions. These include the business and window decorating competitions,  the events on Jacaranda Thursday (Rose Bowl, Silver Cup, and the Gold Cup), as well as “Spot It “. These events are a particular highlight of the Festival and give local businesses a great opportunity to be part of the fun. We’re all looking forward to seeing your decorations and performances!

Best of luck and Happy Jacaranda!