Southland companies assist Fiordland | Stuff.co.nz
Delivered / material
The first meeting of the Fiordland Business Support Summit took place on Sunday afternoon at The Fat Duck in Te Anau, where Louise Evans, Chief Activator of COIN South, spoke on the subject of “Hooking your customers”.
What started as a company asking how it could help has grown into a five-day summit with 18 sessions to support companies in Fiordland.
The Fiordland Business Support Summit started in Te Anau on Sunday and runs through Thursday, with free seminars covering everything from business planning and working with banks to navigating immigration settings and Covid-19 vaccinations to mental wellbeing.
Joanne O’Connor, Project and Engagement Manager for the Southland Chamber of Commerce, said, “We know companies will have questions because of the uncertainty right now.”
The summit came about after a call from Invercargill-based management consultancy and accounting firm Malloch McClean, who offered to hold talks in the tourist destination; which was badly hit by the closure of New Zealand’s borders.
CONTINUE READING:
* Changes to the warning level bring little relief to Southland
* Southland will fall on alert level 2 from Wednesday
* Money for Southland tourism companies a ‘godsend’
O’Connor said “it just grew from there,” and no one the Chamber asked to speak at the summit said no, so their team decided to hold sessions at different times over several days to so many Business owners as possible to benefit from the advice.
“We just want to help. And our members want to help, ”she said, encouraging business to contact the Chamber for advice in the future.
Fiordland Business Association chairman Nathan Benfell said the association fully supported the summit and appreciated the efforts of Extended whānau who had been trying to help their neighbors.
“I encourage everyone to use this while it’s in town,” he said.
As the bed and breakfast owner, Benfell looked forward to networking the most.
“That connection is powerful,” he said, adding that many of the business leaders who would speak have already done business with Fiordland.
“We really need people to support it and show their appreciation,” he said. “If someone can take something away that will help them or their business, it would be a success.”
