In this episode of the Talking Business Australia Podcast, co-founders Cath Fowler and Melissa Dickfos chat with Lisa McFayden from Secure Impact.

Lisa is from Condobolin NSW and has a background in valuation, farming and agronomy. She is a mum, wife, farmer's daughter and lover of life on the land, rural connections and the rural lifestyle.

She is the CEO and Founder of Secure Impact, a rural property and agri asset marketplace to buy, sell, lease, and share farm property. The platform fills the market gap of connecting farmers, consultants and investors in a streamlined marketplace.

As a finalist in the AgriFutures Rural Women's Award in 2019, Lisa has a passion for agriculture and she is determined to see farming communities managed in a viable and sustainable manner.

In this episode we cover:

•Different types of business models

•Limitations of living regionally

•Difficulties of getting people to invest in agriculture

•Opportunities opening for agriculture as a result of agriculture

•Advantages of living regionally

•Highlights of being a business owner in regional Australia

•You don't have to live in a city to make something of yourself

•Making data readily available for farms

•Helping people find the right agricultural opportunities

•Looking for the positives in times of hardship

•Things to think about if you are thinking about moving from metropolitan Australia to regional Australia.

Links mentioned in the show:

•Secure Impact website

•Secure Impact Facebook

•Talking Business Australia Website

•Talking Business Australia Facebook

•Talking Business Australia Instagram

Find Cath at:

•The Digital Laneway Website

•The Digital Laneway Facebook

•The Digital Laneway Instagram

Find Mel at:

•Regional Roar Website

•Regional Roar Facebook

•Regional Roar Instagram

In this episode of the Talking Business Australia Podcast, co-hosts Melissa Dickfos and Cath Fowler share 7 tips for creating social media content.

It's a question that we are both asked by clients every week, so we wanted to share our tips and tricks with you all so you can feel inspired and organised to create great content for your business.

In this episode we cover:

•Why you should share the behind the scenes moments in your business

•Getting the balance right between promoting your products and services

•How to share your knowledge with your audience

•Create content around special events and holidays

•Be across current events and topical conversations in your local area

•Focus on creating posts that drive engagement, including asking questions or encouraging someone to comment

•Share the client love through testimonials and case studies and shout outs

Links mentioned in the show:

•Talking Business Australia Website

•Talking Business Australia Facebook

•Talking Business Australia Instagram

Find Cath at:

•The Digital Laneway Website

•The Digital Laneway Facebook

•The Digital Laneway Instagram

Find Mel at:

•Regional Roar Website

•Regional Roar Facebook

•Regional Roar Instagram

In this episode of the Talking Business Australia Podcast, co-hosts Cath Fowler and Melissa Dickfos chat about all things business awards.

The awards season is kicking off and while some business awards have opted to cancel for 2020 there are still plenty of them that are going ahead. We take a look at why you should consider entering awards for your business and some tips on creating a great award application.

In this episode we cover:

•Celebrating your success

•Generating brand awareness

•Taking time to reflect on your achievements

•How to get your audience to trust you

•How awards can increase your credibility

•Being a finalist is something to promote

•Sharing your story

•Write conversational copy

•It doesn't matter if your a sole trader or a team of 50

•Allow yourself to feel proud

•How judges score entries

•How to answer the questions

Links mentioned in the show:

•Talking Business Website

•Talking Business Facebook

•Talking Business Instagram

•Talking Business Linkedin

Find Cath at:

•The Digital Laneway Website

•The Digital Laneway Facebook

•The Digital Laneway Instagram

Find Mel at:

•Regional Roar Website

•Regional Roar Facebook

•Regional Roar Instagram

Welcome to Season 2 of the podcast. We're excited to be unveiling our fresh new branding for the Talking Business Australia podcast (which if you're a previous listener of the show was formerly called Regional Roar). Our name has changed, but what we are all about hasn't changed. We're still going to be sharing the success stories of regional business owners from all around our amazing country and sharing business and marketing tips, and chatting with industry experts, to help you succeed in business.

To kick off the second season we're excited to have Kate Toon as our guest on the podcast today. Kate is a popular speaker, author, podcaster and trainer who specialises in copywriting and SEO. With her well-known and supportive Facebook groups and communities, she can help you build a big brand with your small business.

In this episode we cover:

•Perseverance is the key to success

•The biggest issue with new business owners is patience

•You don't have to be the best to be successful

•Don't make people feel stupid

•Stop trying to be someone your not

•The rule of thirds

•Investing time to the bottom of your funnel

•Enjoying the struggle

•Being realistic about your 'why'

•Getting your money ducks in a row

•Turning up every day even when the going gets tough

•Expect to work hard

Links mentioned in the show:

•Kate Toon website

•Kate Toon Instagram

•Kate Toon I love SEO group

•Kate Toon Misfit Entrepreneur Group

•Talking Business Australia Website

•Talking Business Australia Facebook

•Talking Business Australia Instagram

In this episode of the Regional Roar Podcast, co-hosts Cath Fowler and Melissa Dickfos chat about how you can reflect on the last financial year and how the last 6 months has really impacted on regional businesses.

A lot of regional businesses have been dealing with drought for many years, and this year has then had the additional pressure of bushfires early in 2020. Then every business has been impacted in recent months by COVID19. So what are the things you might look to review or reflect on, to help set your business up for the new financial year?

In this episode we cover:

•Reviewing the year in two 6 month parts

•Think about the wins you've had

•Review your product and services mix with the stop, start, continue model

•Audit your expenses and subscriptions

•Reflect on how you grew as a business owner, not just in a financial sense

•Be proud of what you took action on this year

•Look forward to setting yourself up for the next financial year. But allow a good degree of flexibility

•Plus we share some exciting news about changes to come in Season 2 of the podcast and what's ahead for Melissa and Cath's individual businesses.

Links mentioned in the show:

•Talking Business Australia Website

•Talking Business Australia Facebook

•Talking Business Australia Instagram

In this episode of the Regional Roar podcast, co-hosts Cath Fowler and Melissa Dickfos chat with Tammy Duckworth from Bella Bands.

Tammy is a single mum of 2 beautiful daughters and hails from Roma, in south-west Queensland. Having been in the beauty industry for the past 23 years, she recently found herself unemployed as a result of COVID19. During this time she became resourceful with her love of sewing, and her new business Bella Bands was born.

In this episode we cover:

•Bouncing back from Covid-19

•The amazing support of small communities

•The importance of supporting others

•Regional communities are a key factor in the success of small businesses

•Advantages of living regionally

•Supporting local businesses is at the heart of country towns

•Strength of mothers

•Community involvement

Links mentioned in the show:

•Bella Bands Website

•Bella Bands Facebook

•Bella Bands Instagram

•Talking Business Australia Website

•Talking Business Australia Facebook

•Talking Business Australia Instagram

In this episode of the Regional Roar Podcast, co-hosts Cath Fowler and Melissa Dickfos chat with Celeste Robertson from the Natural Supply Co.

Celeste Robertson is co-founder of the Natural Supply Co. Established in 2014, the business was dreamt up to provide an inclusive community where natural beauty, skincare and lifestyle products, along with meaningful information, could be found in the one place.

Natural Supply Co proudly profiles and shares natural, cruelty-free and low-toxic products that they love using themselves. They embrace the slow living lifestyle and look for quality over quantity in all aspects of their lives.

In this episode we cover:

•While Celeste spend a little bit of time in Melbourne, Geelong always had her heart

•Co-founder Cath has a chronic condition, so the desire to find all-natural products drove the business idea

•She loves the supportive tight-knit community in her area

•How businesses are adapting to the current environment

•The shop local message is now more amplified than ever

•How media coverage helped grow the business

•The future plans for the business

Links mentioned in the show:

•Natural Supply Co Website

•Natural Supply Co Facebook

•Natural Supply Co Instagram

•Talking Business Australia Website

•Talking Business Australia Facebook

•Talking Business Australia Instagram

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In this episode of the Regional Roar Podcast, co-hosts Melissa Dickfos and Cath Fowler chat all about marketing strategies and why you need one.

From discussing what a marketing strategy is, to developing your brand messaging, choosing which platforms to market your business on, through to evaluating your results and your return on investment.

In this episode we cover:

•Identifying your unique selling proposition (USP)

•Creating a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) of your business, your competitors and the market you are in/entering

•Setting SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely)

•Developing your brand messaging and design to appropriately reflect what your business stands for.

•Creating a customer profile (customer avatar) to outline your ideal customer

•Choosing what platforms you should market your business on

•Implementing your marketing strategies

•Allocating a marketing budget

•Measuring results to allow evaluation of your progress and your ROI

Links mentioned in the show:

•Talking Business Australia Website

•Talking Business Australia Facebook

•Talking Business Australia Instagram

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In this episode of the Regional Roar Podcast, co-hosts Cath Fowler and Melissa Dickfos chat with Tanya Kitto from My Provincial Kitchen.

My Provincial Kitchen is led by Robert (the farmer) and Tanya (the cook). This dynamic duo love food, farming and family. They have developed a range of yummy, healthy, gluten-free premixes that your whole family will love. Together they're also raising 4 farm kids in Western Australia who are carrying on the family love of learning about and growing food.

In this episode we cover:

•Making a product that's generally tricky to use, easy

•Discovering exactly who your target audience is

•Moving out of your comfort zone and exploring new ideas

•Living regionally does not prevent your business from becoming successful

•Turning defeat into determination

•The importance of community in Regional Australia

•The perks of living regionally

•Banding together in tough times

•Living within your business values

Links mentioned in the show:

•My Provincial Kitchen Website

•My Provincial Kitchen Facebook

•My Provincial Kitchen Instagram

•Talking Business Australia Website

•Talking Business Australia Facebook

•Talking Business Australia Instagram

In this episode of the Regional Roar Podcast, co-hosts Melissa Dickfos and Cath Fowler chat with Stacey from CQ Nutrition.

Stacey is the Director of CQ Nutrition and works with her husband, Chris and their team to head up 6 dietician clinics around Central Queensland, with locations in Yeppoon, Rockhampton, Gladstone, Mackay, Emerald and Blackwater. CQ Nutrition assists clients in reaching their health, wellness and performance goals and specialises in weight loss, corporate health and wellness programs, sports nutrition and management and the prevention of chronic diseases.

In this episode we cover:

•Working in co-working spaces can allow you to grow your business faster

•Living regionally gives you access to funding that you wouldn't receive if you were operating out of a major city

•Attending local networking events opens you up to receiving information that could be extremely beneficial to your business

•Forming partnerships with other local businesses can be advantageous, especially in regional Australia

•By hiring great staff you may receive more free time to do the things you love

•Launching online challenges and Facebook groups helps to create a community

•Working regionally doesn't prevent you from having clients in the cities

•Don't just look for your target audience, but also look for YOUR ideal target audience

Links mentioned in the show:

•CQ Nutrition Website

•CQ Nutrition Facebook

•CQ Nutrition Instagram

•CQ Nutrition Linkedin

•Talking Business Australia Website

•Talking Business Australia Facebook

•Talking Business Australia Instagram