THE last event in the Festival of New Thinking, run by 6 Degrees, an initiative of the Coffs Harbor City Council, will be a whole-day affair on Wednesday, 27 October.

The event will consist of three sessions, and participants can sign up for one, two or all three sessions.

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Organisers hope that participants can develop a basic continuity plan for their businesses after identifying key issues that affect them.

They will be provided with direct access to the service providers that can help them plan for the future, along with easy-to-use tools and templates to keep their businesses up and running.

With local businesses having faced a number of significant challenges over recent times, such as the impacts of bushfires, flooding, increased cyber crime and the COVID pandemic, business resilience is an important issue as ever, and continuity planning is something every business should be considering.

The morning session (which includes lunch) is a 1.5-hour, hands-on, practical workshop led by Tim Donovan from Warrgambi about business continuity.

Mr Donovan is a security practitioner with professional credentials in public safety, security, risk management, investigations, training and assessment with extensive physical security experience involving the protection of high priority dignitaries and sites in Australia and abroad.

He will examine planning for when the unexpected happens, and consider aspects such as emergency preparations, legal risks and insurance and physical and online safety.

The middle session, beginning at 1pm, is led by Emily Dever, a Workplace Wellbeing Specialist, and Jo Facey, a Business Resilience Mentor from CHESS CONNECT.

Their session, about healthy mindsets and workplaces will present a fresh and innovative approach to how small business operators manage their mental health and wellbeing.

They will show how, by building resilience and mental fitness, small business operators will be better equipped to manage challenges, plan for change and support a culture of positive wellbeing for when times are tough.

Scotty Schindler and Courtney Tune will present the afternoon session from 2:30pm, about finding new markets and customers when the market shifts.

Mr Schindler was the founder of ReNet Real Estate Software which amassed nearly 6,000 clients throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Mr Tune is an entrepreneurship facilitator who founded Alt-Collective to work with businesses to find focus and balance, to maintain passion and build collaboration.

Nicole McLennan, Acting Section Leader, Industry and Destination Development, said, “This event is the culmination of the Festival of New Thinking, and it is timely because businesses have been doing it tough for nearly two years.

“Even business owners who consider themselves to be tough find that the constant changes and level of uncertainty mean that they have to look after the physical and mental wellbeing of themselves and their staff.

“They need to know that everyone is experiencing the same thing.”

Ms McLennan said, “And, we’ll finish the day on a positive note, talking about building business.”

Tickets and further information can be found at www.6degreesco.com.au/festival-of-new-thinking.

By Andrew VIVIAN