RUNNING a business of any size can be a tough gig, but a group of micro-business operators took time out last week to learn about ways to stand out from the crowd.
They joined two workshops run by Kyneton professional writer Natalie Dowling, of Words on a Page, who helps businesses of all sizes better communicate what they do.
Ms Dowling said one of the things many business owners, especially soloists, found difficult was setting aside time to work on strategy before getting stuck into the nuts and bolts of their marketing.
This prompted her to develop the Pitch Perfect and Nail Your Narrative workshops, designed to tap into a business’s back story and teach people how to identify and share the many stories around them every day.
Ms Dowling said many people made the mistake of thinking potential clients or customers either knew all about them already, or were not interested.
“I really get a kick out of helping people see their stories, or actually tapping into the fact that they can share that story and give themselves permission to,” she said.
“Stories can stimulate conversations and shift behaviours. Really thinking about that journey of where we came from, can also give us the confidence to talk about ourselves more.
“And we can trust that we’re on the right track and doing what we’re meant to be doing. These workshops are a process of self-reflection that business people often don’t stop to do.”
The workshops were brought to Swan Hill by Rural Business Connections, an organisation based in Mildura that has received funding to offer a variety of seminars and workshops to support small businesses.
Program manager Dianne Johnstone said feedback from workshops by Ms Dowling and other trainers, which have also been run at Boort, Pyramid Hill, Cohuna, Wakool and Kerang, has been “really positive”.
“We get a lot of feedback that people find the workshops empowering,” she said.
“But they’re also getting the skills to really build their businesses from the workshops.
“And I guess a really important part of our program is that we bring experts to our area and provide workshops that are free or low cost to remove some of the barriers that small businesses face.”
