Bathurst's business leaders gained some vital organisational advice yesterday as part of the annual BizMonth luncheon.
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Held at the Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre [BMEC], the luncheon was an opportunity to hear from guest speaker Gus Balbontin, a Melbourne-based entrepreneur best known for his work with travel guide publisher Lonely Planet.
In his discussion, Mr Balbontin addressed the need for business professionals to keep on top of a rapidly changing environment to ensure growth into the future.
"If we take the last two decades of the business world into consideration, the growth of the internet has accelerated transformation among businesses to keep up with an ever changing landscape," Mr Balbontin said.
"The current business climate in light of COVID-19 is peculiar in the sense its placed survival and recovery ahead of opportunity, which is why its essential for businesses to adapt to the changes in order to create new opportunities."
Mr Balbontin said the value of entrepreneurship is essential to ensuring the further diversification of local economies.
"You don't need to be born to be an entrepreneur, you can grow into it," he said.
"The key motivation for every entrepreneur is to fix a hole in the market, and it's critical for businesses, especially smaller ones, to be courageous, determined and eager to make a difference."
Bathurst Regional Council's economic development manager Steve Bowman said the BizMonth lunch is a vital opportunity for local business leaders to draw valuable insights from an individual who has seen significant success in the business sector.
"This is the sixth time we've held the event, and it always brings local businesses together," Mr Bowman said.
"Gus used his discussion to address a need for local business leaders to reach customers differently and change their framework to suit the current climate.
The lunch was sponsored by Commonwealth Bank.
Commonwealth Bank Central West executive manager Philip Alcock said the need for businesses to think creatively has only been reinforced through COVID-19.
"Those businesses who weren't online had to create a website, and many have had to seek out new clientele to stay afloat," Mr Alcock said.
"To survive and thrive, you have to be extremely nimble, and we've seen that with many of our clients."
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Sam Bolt
"I'm not in the business of telling people what to do. I'm much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them." -Nick Cave
"I'm not in the business of telling people what to do. I'm much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them." -Nick Cave
