The first ever Central West Young Entrepreneurs Summit has been met with overwhelming success from business people that attended the July 25 event.
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The turnout was diverse with business owners ranging from beauty specialists to automotive repairers learned invaluable tips and advice from some of Australia's most successful young entrepreneurs who grew their startups into million dollar companies.
Entrepreneur and founder of Samantha Wills Jewellery who the Mudgee Guardian recently interviewed and the Samantha Wills Foundation, Samantha Wills, delivered the keynote address on 'The art of brand building; from regional Australia to the international stage'.
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"I feel very at home in regional Australia, I am from a small town on the Mid-North Coast called Port Macquarie and I've been in New York for the last 10 years but I am very passionate about regional Australia but specifically startups and entrepreneurship so it really resonates with me and it is a true pleasure to be here today."
Wills was joined in the summit lineup by a list of diverse and skilled entrepreneurs including Troy Douglas (co-founder Nexba), Lisa Maree (co-founder Glamazon), Raph Freedman (co-founder Peak Chocolate), Omar Khalifa (CEO iAccelerate), Diamond Hawkins (founder of Panorama Prebuilt) and MC and award-winning journalist Alison Rice. Speakers gave their insights on leadership, resilience, growth and marketing strategies that lead to their success.
The event was possible thanks to grant funding secured by Council from the Australian Government's Buildings Better Regions Fund.
General Manager Brad Cam said Council works hard to support the 3,482 small businesses (with less than 20 employees) registered in the region.
"As our population grows at a strong rate of 1.17% we've seen 463 new businesses registered in the region in the last financial year. This Summit was developed for local business owners with a focus on issues relevant to today's entrepreneurs, stimulating unique thinking and the drive to take action," he said.
Council has received positive feedback overnight with one local business owner commenting on social media: "Fantastic event! Well done to all involved with bringing such a successful event to Mudgee."
