Port Stephens Organisations Collaborate To Deliver Free Business Support Expo Port Stephens Port Stephens News by News Of The Area - Modern Media - October 12, 2020 Beck Morley – Spark CoWork, Deborah Rodden – Port Stephens Council, Kerri Rodley – Port Stephens Women in Business, Angela Pobie – Tomaree Business Chamber, Eileen Gilliand – Destination Port Stephens withFiona Brown – Port Stephens Women in Business. Photo by Marian Sampson. COVID-19 has disrupted lives and business in an unprecedented way. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us – (02) 4981 8882. Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au For many small businesses this leaves business owners vulnerable and in search of help. Finding the way through red tape and finding ways to pivot a business isn’t easy, neither are dealing with the stress and worries around the future of business after COVID-19. There are over 450 small businesses operating in Port Stephens. They operate in a range of sectors including health, tourism, hospitality business services and retail. The Big Impact Expo is a free event which is being held online for small businesses in Port Stephens. The event is the result of a collaboration between member driven business organisations from across Port Stephens and will be held online on 27 October. “Small Business – Big Impact” is being driven by Port Stephens Council, Tomaree Business Chamber, Port Stephens Women in Business, Destination Port Stephens and Spark CoWork and is being delivered with the support of the NSW Government. The event will deliver a day of inspiration and information to support small businesses during these challenging times. Tomaree Business Chamber President, Leah Anderson said, “It has been wonderful to see all of the organisations representing small businesses in Port Stephens come together and work on this event. “This collaboration means that all of our local businesses will benefit from the resources and content available on the day to assist with COVID-19 recovery and help reignite the Port Stephens economy.” Sessions are designed to deliver a real benefit and strategies attendees can put into action. Virtual attendees can sign in and listen in on keynote speaker Stephen Griffiths presenting on Developing Resilience in Difficult Times. There will also be information on how Council is supporting business post COVID and virtual breakout rooms where attendees can participate in Q&A sessions. Attendees can virtually network and access one on one appointments with business advisors on the day. Rebecca Morley of Spark Co-work told News Of The Area, “There are over 20 individual topical speakers on the program as well as our keynote speaker, Stephen Griffiths. “It doesn’t matter what size business you are, we encourage everyone to jump online and register and to come along between 10-2pm on 27 October. “The recordings will also be available online after the event,” she said. Businesses are encouraged to register before 19 October, after which you will receive a unique link to join the event on 27 October. For more information and to register please visit www.smallbusinessbigimpact.com.au By Marian SAMPSON