“So far, I have been able to answer all the questions put forward to me, but I have always said that if I am not able to do so, I will do the research and get back to the person who asked the question,” Sana said.

"What I thoroughly enjoy is hearing everyone’s input.”

Sana has noticed a quiet flourishing start to take place in these environments. Business owners who may be new to the business arena, or who are shy at contributing, are opening up.

‘’I love seeing the seeds of collaboration start to take place in these spaces,” Sana said.

“You never know who will attend and what kind of mix the table will have. People walk away with new ideas to ponder, potential collaborations, marketing strategies to work on, as well as feeling motivated by knowing that they aren’t the only one doing it on their own.’’

Photographer Michelle Troop, who attended one of the Margaret River sessions, sums it up beautifully.

“The free-flowing conversations are where the gems are. These Q&A Morning Biz sessions are where people feel safe enough to express ideas and listen to others,” she said.

• The cruise ships don’t have to dock in Busselton, but they do.  Local businesses are encouraged to make the most of the opportunity.
  

A lot was covered on the evening and because of this, a repeat presentation may take place again in 2019. Watch this space!

Climbing the mountain – plunging in and setting up your own system to compete with Amazon. This may make things more difficult, especially if you are ill-equipped due to a lack of financial or human resources.

The thing is though, you don’t have to start from scratch. If you are not able to set up your own system, you could join an already existing online platform (ebay and etsy are just two great spaces for retailers) and leverage off their name and branding, whilst getting your own brand out there. You are now moving through the mountain. Investigate, research, and make an informed decision based on your business needs.

In order to survive and thrive as a business owner you sometimes have to make some tough decisions. Is it possible to walk around the mountain and create your own path? This is a great way to gain experience and knowledge, but can be time consuming and resource draining. Weigh it up and make a decision on whether this is for you.
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If you are unsure of which step to take, have a chat to one of our friendly, professional Business Advisory South West and Peel advisors. Call 1300 275 477 to book your free appointment.

Greg Boase of Boase and Associates talked about profitable relationships during the Industry Leaders Panel. He told the audience how 7 per cent of what we say is rapport, 38 per cent is our tone and 55 per cent is our body language. He stressed the importance of having testimonials across all platforms.
A panel of four then spoke about the future of agriculture in the region, including Paula from Grubsup, Maree Gooch from Chris Wireless, John Mitchell from Livestock Transport and Adrian Parker from PDC. 

Forensic Cyber Specialist Stan Gallo from KPMG spoke about cyber security, and the lack of awareness inside companies on the importance of reporting and dealing with breaches.
“User education is a top priority and businesses are no longer safe ignoring this as part of their systems control,” he said.

He recommended `Cyber News’ as a great resource to learn what is going on in the space of Cyber Security.

Linda Hailey from ‘Your Business, Your Future’, shared her knowledge of being in small business today.  She talked about the fact that most of us do not growing up saying we want to own a small business - we grow up saying we want to be a fireman or policeman or nurse or teacher. She advocated working on your business, not in it, with tools like a vision board and future org charts so that you know what you are aiming towards.

University of Melbourne Neuroscientist Dr Jared Cooney-Horvath was an exceptional speaker, who had the entire audience spell-bound with his presentation about retaining relationships by knowing what the other person wants. 

He talked about our front lobe conductor being a coder which can be changed at any time.

“Stories drive your coder, and concepts drive perceptions,” he said. “Company stories lead to defining who you are. This becomes your values and who what you stand for. The only future proof skill is learning.”

Last but not least, Political Economist Dr Angus Hervey and Big Data Scientist Tane Hunter from FutureCrunch.com spoke about the future. They showed the world is getting better (despite what the media portrays). They help organisations navigate the future, and are your field guides for the next economy. Their mission is to foster intelligent, optimistic thinking about the future, and to empower people to contribute to it.
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Future Proof Peel was great – we highly recommend attending the next event in 2020.