In October, Maroondah businesses were provided with a multitude of information and discussion forums through a series of workshops that were all part of Maroondah City Council’s Business Week 2002. Participants of Maroondah’s Business Week workshops were treated to a number of expert speakers from various organisations and companies.
Participants in the ‘Strategic Risk – Is your business Sustainable’ workshop heard about various environmental initiatives that can save their businesses serious money. Among the speakers was Kerryn Shrank from BP, who told how BP achieved savings in excess of $180,000 by implementing the BP Green Office Program, which increased energy efficiencies, reduced paper consumption and reduced landfill.
Another workshop which featured as part of Business Week aimed at retailers and focused on visual merchandising prior to the Christmas season.
“Christmas is a hectic time in retail,” said Maroondah Councillor, Peter Gurr. “How your shop is presented can mean the difference between roast turkey or canned ham.”
Other features of Business Week 2002 included a seminar on how to catch fussy customers, which provided insight into how business operators can creatively turn ‘browsers’ into ‘happy paying customers’.
Another seminar, titled Innovation, Creativity and Partnership: a Strategic Approach to Women in Business’, featured Di Fleming, Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne and Director of Accelerated Knowledge of Technologies. Her seminar provided women with inspiration to explore ongoing opportunities and give them access to a strategic framework that would support innovation and creativity in their businesses.
For further information contact Council’s Business Development and Major Projects Unit, telephone (03) 9298 4469.
