MEMBERS ANNUAL

RENEWAL REPORT

2017 – 2018

HISTORY: Commerce Ballarat is the result of a merger that occurred in 2004 between the Ballarat

Chamber of Commerce and the Ballarat Retail Board. Commerce Ballarat operates as an

independent body with a broad membership base, working collectively for the

advancement of Ballarat businesses.

TODAY: Commerce Ballarat currently has 513 members and employs a Chief Executive Officer part

time, a full time Events & Executive Assistant, a full time Events & Administration Assistant, a

part time Accounts Administrator and a part time Business Awards Event Assistant.

OUR VISION: To be the number one relevant resource for business.

OUR MISSION: To provide strong, reliable leadership and advocacy on matters relevant to business in

greater Ballarat.

PURPOSE OF COMMERCE BALLARAT: Bettering business in greater Ballarat by -

Promoting business activities

Providing leadership and advocacy

Liaising with all levels of Government to advance business

Facilitating knowledge and skills development for business

Read the 2017 – 2020 Strategic Plan Here

MEMBERS BY SECTOR 2017 – 2018:

Professional

Business Services

Financial Services

Health

RetailManufacturing

Creative Industries

Hospitality

Events & Attractions

Media &

Communication

Training & Education

Contractors & Trades

Tourism

Charities & Charitably

Organisations Wellbeing & Beauty Sustainability Transport

MEMBERS SURVEY RESULTS:

Members satisfied with the service provided by Commerce Ballarat

“Very responsive to industry issues. Ahead of the game.”

“There are always plenty of events on, and everyone is very helpful.”

Members who have attended a Commerce Ballarat networking event during the current

financial year

Suggestions of events or business development opportunities

- Tours of local businesses

- Speed networking

- Local success stories

- Anything about technology trends & impact

Constructive feedback or suggestions

- “Love your work and hopefully will have time to get to more events over the coming year.”

- “Commerce Ballarat has demonstrated strong leadership on business and community

forums around Ballarat. We require a strong voice and we currently get that so well done.”

- “You’re doing an awesome job - Please don't try fix what is not broken.”

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Very Dissatisfied

Dissatisfied

Neutral

Satisfied

Vert Satisfied

0 20 40 60 80

No

Yes

MEMBERS BENEFITS:

Business Weekly:

Weekly newsletter distributed to over 1600 Ballarat business people.

Member News:

All members have the opportunity to promote their news and events to over 1600 local

business people.

Members Directory:

A comprehensive directory of our members who have the ability to upload their corporate

logo, images, details and display a google map and social media handles. This directory is

the only comprehensive business directory in Ballarat and as such is used extensively.

Member of the Week:

Every Commerce Ballarat member has the opportunity to have their logo and business

description placed in the Business Weekly and on our website home page for 1 week.

Business Event Calendar:

Members can both publicise and source upcoming business events and development

programs.

Mentoring Program:

Free program for members offering one on one mentoring and group workshops this

program is suitable for new businesses or those that are looking for growth or change.

Applications open in November 2018 and places are limited.

Business Development:

We contribute financially to the running of our programs and also source external funding to

allow us to offer these events either free for members or at a nominal charge.

Networking Events:

We offer a variety of networking events such as the After Five, BisNet Breakfast, Business Day

Out and the Young Professionals Network.

Click here to view our new video, lots of familiar faces!

INITIATIVES:

B31 BALLARAT BUSINESS MONTH:

Commerce Ballarat facilitates B31 Ballarat Business Month in August every

year. Thirty-two networking and development opportunities were delivered in

2017. We look forward to continued improvement in 2018 with increased

attendance and diversity of events. Thank you to sponsors: City of Ballarat,

Victorian Government, People @ Work, Crowe Horwath, Ink Digital, The Courier

and Radio Ballarat.

BUSINESS DAY OUT:

In 2018 200 people from across Regional Victoria attended Business Day Out

and were inspired by Georgia Beattie, Craig Hutchison, Sam Haans, Miyo

Fallshaw and Dr Amantha Imber. It is important that BDO continues to be

supported by the regional business community in order to provide them with

access to high quality speakers at an affordable cost. Thank you to sponsors:

City of Ballarat, Brown Ink Design, Simplex Insurance Solutions, Sovereign Press,

Mercure Ballarat Hotel and Convention Centre, Radio Ballarat, The WIN

Network, WDEA Works, VicSuper and Camerons.

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS NETWORK:

The Commerce Ballarat Young Professionals Network aims to provide a

platform for young professionals wishing to establish themselves and/or their

businesses within the Ballarat area. During 2017/18 we hosted monthly Coffee

Catch Up’s and three After Work Catch Up’s. In the future we aim to create

opportunities for the YPN’s to become involved with mentoring. Thank you to

sponsor: Harwood Andrews

BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AWARDS:

The awards are an opportunity to take the time to review and reflect on your

business. Participation continues to rise each year with over 1700 people

involved throughout the process in 2017. The awards are also well supported

by many in the business community through judging and mentoring. Thank

you to sponsors: Federation Business School, Loreto College, CGU Insurance,

City of Ballarat, Central Highlands Water, Harwood Andrews, Visit Ballarat, The

Courier, Mercure Ballarat Hotel and Convention Centre, 3Ba & Power FM, The

WIN Network, Regional Development Australia – Grampians, Stockland

Wendouree and GMHBA.

BISNET BREAKFAST:

It is pleasing to see the BisNet Breakfast series was so well attended in 2017/18

as it is relevant across all industry sectors. Guest speakers included; Tall

Poppies, Paul Chapman, Susan Alberti, Peter Hudson, Patrick Shaw, Jarrod

Milani, Ellen Jackson & Ash Sims speaking on a range of topics. Thank you to

sponsors: City of Ballarat, Radio Ballarat, BJT Legal, Butler Chartered

Accountants, Adroit Insurance Group and People @ Work.

b2b CAMPAIGN: The biannual media campaign focuses on both business to business spending

and encouraging awareness in the general public of the importance of

spending locally. In addition to the annual Christmas Competition the A-Z of

Ballarat business competition runs in May/June which has great engagement

on social media. Commerce Ballarat invests heavily in these campaigns but

they would not be possible without the support of our b2b Gold sponsors: RU

Advertising, Simplex Insurance Solutions, Ballarat Mercedes-Benz, Sovereign

Press, Crowe Horwath, Telstra Business Centre and Plus IT and Wilson’s Fruit &

Vegetables. We also thank our Bronze sponsors: Central Victorian Investments

and Media: The Courier, 3BA/PowerFM, The WIN Network and Prime7.

Supported: by The City of Ballarat.

BUSINESS MENTORING PROGRAM: This free members program is aimed at new businesses or those that require

assistance to grow or develop. Ten businesses are annually given the

valuable opportunity to learn from individual mentoring and group

workshops. In 2017 we ticked over 50 businesses that have participated since

the inception of this program. We thank our Mentors; Vicki Coltman, Kay

Jackson, Peter Wilson, Darren Evans, Brett Macdonald, Tony Chew, Martijn

Schroder, Peter Flynn, Mick Taylor, Laurie Gillett, Jamie Sleep and Jennifer

Kelly.

DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN 2017-2018 • Business Day Out

• Commerce Ballarat Mentoring Program

• Business Awards Application Writing Workshops

• BisNet Breakfasts

• B31 Ballarat Business Month (30+ workshops and events)

• Ignite your Business Workshop

• Business Success Seminar

• Industry Chat – HR, Retail & Hospitality

WHAT WAS NEW IN 2017 – 2018 • Industry Chat – HR, Retail & Hospitality

• Commerce Ballarat Promotional Video

ADVOCACY Commerce Ballarat represented our members and the wider business community on a wide

range of issues to both local, state and federal government. Some of the issues were -

• Penalty Rates, hospitality and retail sectors

• Penalty Rates and Fair Pay Select Committee

• City of Ballarat future planning

• Mair and Sturt Streets VicRoads

• Planning Ballarat Major Projects

REPRESENTATION Commerce Ballarat represented the membership at the following groups -

• Economic Strategy Expert Reference Group

• City of Ballarat Jobs Forum

• Community Charter for the Prevention of Violence against Women Reference

Group

• VicRoads Mair Street Advisory Group

• Local Advisory Panel

• Central Highlands Regional Assembly

COMING UP IN 2018/2019

• After Five hosted by; Federation University Tafe & Bolton’s

• B31 Ballarat Business Month, August 1-31

• Federation Business School Commerce Ballarat Business Excellence Awards, August 30

• BisNet Breakfasts, first Tuesday of the month – Featuring; Jeff Pulford, Peter Dostis,

Gerry Ryan OAM, The Reach Foundation, 3BA Christmas Appeal

• Young Professionals Network After Work Catch Ups & Coffee Catch Up’s

• Industry Chat – Hospitality, Retail and HR

• Spot the B2B Bunyip Christmas Competition

• Commerce Ballarat Mentoring Program 2019

• Business Day Out 2019

• B2b Buy Local Campaigns

Commerce Ballarat sincerely values the support of our members and

sponsors but we also would like to acknowledge the many individuals whose

generous contribution over the past year has allowed us to deliver our

services and opportunities to the business community………………

Joe Agius

Whitney Atkinson

Keith Bartlett

Nick Beale

Tiarni Beasley

Stuart Benjamin

Jannine Bennett

Tim Bodey

Andrew Bradley

Peter Brugman

Damien Butler

Stephen Byrne

Rhoni Callahan

Sean Cameron

Andrea Cameron

Sally Capp

Chris Cartledge

Tony Chew

Hayley Coates

Simon Coghlan

Vicki Coltman

Susan Cowie

Dan Cronin

Arianne Cross

Michael Cushing

Jim Dannock

Catherine Darby

Ray Davies

Kate Davis

Peter Dean

Noel Dempsey

Siobhan Dent

Neil Doolan

Michael Duffin

Eugene Duffy

Damon Edwards

Darren Evans

John Fitzgibbon

Carmel Flynn

Peter Flynn

Dennis Foley

Peter Ford

Rebekah Foster

Mel Fulcher

Di Gibney

Brendan Gillett

Laurie Gillett

Mark Goss

Dianne Gow

Stephen Griffin

Stacey Grose

Iain Gunn

Shannon Haintz

Jason Hargreaves

Jessie Harman

Garry Holding

Tim Hubble

Barbara Hughes

Kay Jackson

James Kerr

Rod Kilborn

Phillip Lee

Rob Lehmann

Kellie Lewis

Justine Linley

Jamie Lockett

Angelique Lush

Kay Macaulay

Mandy Macdonald

Brett Macdonald

Megan MacPherson

Samantha Magill

Tim Matthews

Peter McGrath

Cr Samantha McIntosh

Graham McMahon

Andrew McMaster

Jordan McPhan

Gerald Meagher

Justine Mitchell

Simon Monk

Bill Mundy

Liam Murphy

Paul O'Donahue

Bob O'Shea

Sue-Ann Permezel

Donnatello

Pietrantuono

Jeff Pulford

Marelyn Reed

Daniel Reid

Cr Jim Rinaldi

Melanie Robertson

Don Robinson

Andrew Robson

Andrew Rowan

Helen Ryan

Caius Ryan

Marita Ryan

Doug Sarah

Chris Sargent

Anthony Schinck

Martijn Schroder

Andrew Sculley

Dennis Shaw

Dan Simmonds

Jamie Sleep

Helen Stephens

Paul Stephens

Tony Stone

Mick Taylor

Scott Tennant

Nick Thurlbeck

Matthew Vallance

Tamara van Noort

Craig Willian

Trevor Wilson

Peter Wilson

Brad Wooton

Claire Wooton

Pina Worsley

Heath Worsley

David Wright

Stevie Wright