One of those businesses is the Town and Country Gallery in Yarragon Victoria.
The award winning Town and Country Gallery is sought out by collectors, home decorators and gift buyers alike, delighting in the extensive range of local and Australian fine artworks including; glass, ceramics, jewellery and handcrafted hardwood furniture.
According to proprietor Jo Wolswinkel, her business was rapidly developing and one of the challenges she faced was not having the time to tend to all the business’s demands.
“One of the challenges I faced was finding a way to become less ‘hands on’. As my business continued to flourish, I was working long hours and tending to everything from the shop floor, through to finance and marketing. Although I was spreading myself too thinly, my attitude was that it was quicker to take care of things myself rather than delegating to other staff,” she recalls.
“The problem with that was I always made decisions on the run. I never had time to plan ahead and I felt I lacked control over the business’s direction. For this reason, I began to fear the business’s growth instead of embracing it.
“If my business was to prosper, I realised that I would need to change my patterns. I saw an advertisement for RAPID in The ARA Retailer, which prompted me to action. I had previously attended some ‘Better Business’ courses in Cranbourne which had been conducted by the ARA. I got a lot out of these courses, so I was confident that the RAPID program would be just as useful.”
Wolswinkel says that the RAPID program has benefited her business immensely. She believes that the written component of the course content has served as a useful reference and the social aspect of the course has enabled her to interact with other businesses.
“Interacting with other businesses has been highly beneficial because I’ve found that there is so much common ground. As business owners we face many of the same problems, so coming together to exchange ideas helps each of us find new perspectives on tackling everyday problems,” she points out.
“The RAPID course has certainly helped me to reach new levels in my business. Rather than feeling overwhelmed all the time, I am now full of enthusiasm and looking forward to great things instead of wondering how I'm going to cope with the business’s growth.”
Wolswinkel believes she has gained both the personal and business tools she needs to take the leap from being all 'hands on' to delegating responsibility to the right people for the right jobs as the business grows. By delegating, it is also enabling her the time to strategically plan her business and utilise her resources more efficiently.
“After attending a few workshops, I sourced a large yearly planner and I had an interview with a visual merchandiser. I have now set in place three interstate stock sourcing and buying trips before the end of the year and the visual merchandiser regularly refreshes all my window displays and glass display cabinets,” she says.
“I have booked a time with my graphic designer to work on my website and I have contacted the Baw Baw Shire Economic Development Officer and Tourism Officer who both almost fell over themselves to supply me with relevant statistics regarding the local area and tourism visitation.
“I plan to share this data with other Yarragon businesses and it should help to get our Yarragon Business and Tourism Association reinvigorated.”
