Local business representatives are coming together tonight to launch the Greater Ararat Business Network, an event that has been in planning for some time.
The newly founded committee of twelve will share their vision and plans for the network at their Business After Dark event, inviting anyone within the community to come along and learn about the future.
PHOTO: Ararat Council
GAB Network President, Maria Whitford said the committee has come up with a calendar of events and strategies to introduce ahead of 2020.
“There’s twelve of us from completely different walks of life and we’ve all come together. It’s not that we really want it to succeed, we know it’s going to succeed because we’re putting a lot of hours into it,” Whitford said.
“The network is going to provide opportunities for like-minded businesses to network, share and learn.”
“We’ve been meeting fortnightly to try and get some things happening, and with that, we’ve got our launch on Wednesday night which is our first event.”
In recent times, Ararat has seen the closure of local businesses that have been a part of the community for some time. Whitford said that the new network is going to help support businesses and give them opportunities to learn new things.
“Whilst we want to give to the business community, it’s about them as well. They need to participate, it’s a two-way street,” she said.
PHOTO: Ararat Council
“We can put all these things into place, put on lots of events, and provide opportunities and invite industry partners into our little business world but if you don’t jump on yourself then you won’t get any benefit out of it.”
“You’ve got to be interested in changing your business alone – we can’t save everyone’s businesses.”
The new network is inviting everyone to their event tonight, including industry partners and community groups. Kate Kirkpatrick, Co-owner of Oregional Collective and Co-director of Grampians Grape Escape, will be the guest speaker, alongside Whitford who will introduce the group’s plans.
Anyone interested is encouraged to head along tonight, between 6:30pm – 8:30pm at the Ararat RSL.