Launch of the BusinessBM.com.au business directory: Blue Mountains | Blue Mountain Gazette

The BusinessBM.com.au The business directory was created as part of more than $ 600,000 in bushfire grants funded by the Blue Mountains Business Community Resilience Project, which aims to build resilient business communities in the 26 mountain towns.

The project is a collaboration between corporate2community (C2C), a leader in disaster resilience for business communities, and BusinessBM, the region’s new business network.

BusinessBM director and spokesperson Lawrence Atkinson said the directory would help businesses connect with each other and improve their visibility and accessibility to new residents looking for key services.

“This project is basically about keeping the Blue Mountains businesses going,” said Atkinson.

“We want to build a strong and resilient local economy, and the best way to do that is to come together as a business community. By working with each other, we can thrive not only as individual businesses, but also as a regional community. “

Faulconbridge business owner Meagan Witton jumped at the chance to join the new directory.

“We launched our Miss Figgy Grazing Boards business last October at the end of the last batch of blockages,” Ms. Witton said. “We have been creating pasture boards for our friends and family for the past few years. It was really a side hobby, and last year we decided to go ahead and launch our business. She just took off.

Ms Witton said the directory will be popular with other business owners and operators who have struggled in the aftermath of the fires and during the pandemic.

“A local business directory makes it much easier for us to reach new potential customers and connect with local suppliers,” she said.

Corporate2community director Renae Hanvin said the directory is part of a series of grant initiatives that underpin the project’s goal of strengthening disaster preparedness and resilience in the Blue Mountains.

“We know that local businesses form the backbone of regional communities, and when they start to work together and share knowledge, powerful change occurs and everyone in the community benefits,” Ms. Hanvin said. .

In addition to the directory, the BusinessBM.com.au The website has links and resources for mountain businesses covering resilience, mental health and wellness, and networking. It will help business owners establish their own local networks.

Meanwhile, the state’s leading trading organization Business NSW believes a new set of challenges established by the NSW government to consider financial support for small businesses will be adopted by businesses statewide. . The panel will examine on a case-by-case basis companies that do not qualify for any of the hardship packages currently on offer.