Immediately loved the community spirit in the area.
Having previously chaired two community groups, I wanted to become involved locally and meet some local business contacts, so I joined a local networking group.
Finding it difficult to get to breakfast and evening networking events, as a mum with young kids, I requested to start up a monthly morning coffee event for the group I’d connected with, which complimented their evening events. The attendance figures clearly indicated I wasn’t the only one looking for this option, and the group continues to be a huge support to many local business women.
With a strong background in Customer Service Management, I was considering my next career move, and began to get a strong feeling that there was a need locally for a place to network AND work at the same time, and the idea for the business centre began to take shape.
Central Business Associates was launched.
Recognising two growth markets within Australia – Customer Service and Flexible Working, and having significant experience in both areas, my subsequent research led me to identify my point of difference in the community.
2018 saw us move to another floor in the same building. The new space had a much bigger coworking area, and a fantastic kitchen area to meet and chat with coworkers over lunch, and you could help yourself throughout the day to the complimentary tea, coffee and filtered water. We had a much larger boardroom, with panoramic views out over the ocean, and more potential for events and workshops .
Moving to the new space, with it’s community-centric environment, I wanted to offer more value to our Members.
In collaboration with another local business, I created a new Leadership Masterclass program, offering tailored workshops to enhance our business community’s Leadership skills, including monthly small group accountability sessions to help each other have a more rounded knowledge of how to grow our businesses.
I continue to look for areas where I can facilitate collaboration, and encourage local businesses to work together to create economic growth and community support in our area.
Celebrating five years open, 2020 was shaping up to be a year of stability. More people taking up permanent services in the flexible workspaces, and continued Leadership and Development support.
With the huge world crisis caused by COVID 19, being an already adaptable business, and with a background in change management, I looked at what services and support I could offer to our local business community. I made the decision to move to another flexible workspace location within our community from the end of September of 2020, with a number of our collaborative members. We will be focusing our attention towards supporting the ongoing growth of local businesses, through offering a variety of specialised consultancy and contractor services.
Being able to focus my time on utilising the skills I have, over hosting the workspaces, has opened up a new growth phase – for me and for my clients. I look forward to seeing what 2021 brings, once the economy and the environment settles.
I would love to talk to you about how I can help with your business growth!
It’s lucky I’ve had the opportunity to study Change Management. If this last year has shown us anything, it’s that Change is the new Normal…
After a short period in the new workspace, a group of us were able to find a fantastic building to move to on a long-term lease, allowing us to settle into a collaborative haven! We are just along the road, in the beautiful Manly Harbour Village, with yet another stunning view!
My clients are finally getting me all to themselves, as I no longer manage flexible workspaces, but my core values and service offerings still allow me to help small businesses with the challenges they face. Check out the Small Business Surgery and watch this space for more info coming soon!
There are many benefits of working together: sharing costs, helping each other, having a place to go for advice, or having a base to meet clients or have mail sent to.
It’s about being part of something bigger, but maintaining your own individuality, goals and objectives.
Central Business Associates has always been about creating the environment of a supportive large company, with access to different services and internal support for local micro, small and start-up businesses.
Our community has grown and adapted over the years, supporting other local businesses by looking for gaps in the market. Most recently, with so many people working from home, we made the decision to move to a larger shared flexible office, where we can collaboratively support many more local small businesses, individually or as a team.
