The Year Ahead
Because Government stimulus handouts to households have mostly dried up, credit (for business) still remains very tight and interest rates are on the rise, flat conditions are likely to continue for those of you competing solely on price in commodity sectors. For others trading in more distinctive 'niche' areas, I believe opportunities will continue to grow. I say this for two reasons:
1. Over 55's control an estimated 39% of Australia's wealth and this is predicted to grow by 61% over the next ten years. And this is our strongest age group. As for Gen X, they hold an estimated 19%. SO WHO WOULD YOU PREFER TO BE DOING BUSINESS WITH?? While this market segment is not always viewed as particularly 'sexy', it is very under-serviced. The retired crave respect and attention - give them that and they have money to spend. Display your Seniors Card and importantly your Customer Care and Journey of Flavour decals.
2. Our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is currently $2.95 billion. This is an outstanding result for a regional economy and is a very good indicator of the standard of living we enjoy together with our disposable income. To give you an idea of how well we are going, have a look at the following comparison:
Journey of Flavour Car Rally
Don't forget to register for the car rally being held this Sunday, 27 February. Fun and entertainment for the whole family. This is another event designed to promote high quality food and beverage businesses in this area.
To register call Wendy Beverley on 6581 8221 or for more information, click on the link below.
Customer Care Frequently Asked Questions
There are some changes afoot for the Customer Care program including the proposed introduction of a nominal membership fee. These changes are designed to substantially improve our capacity to promote member businesses.
Frequently asked questions are included on the following link:
USA $47,500
Australia $39,337
PMQ/H $39,000
Japan $34,100
Eu $33,700
NZ $29,182
By far the greatest component of our GDP is for personal consumption. This is because, as a retirement region, we have become good at providing most services for our own residents. GDP is also a good indicator of the strengths of this area and the opportunities for future growth.
Our three (3) largest service industries are electricity supply, real estate and health, representing 36% of total GDP. 'Product' industries in Port Macquarie-Hastings are dominated by manufacturing.
My Travels
I have spent some time working with a moderate sized firm keen to locate into this area from Sydney and others from Gympie and Brisbane. Two of these are particularly exciting prospects and, all things going well may commence operation later this year. Amongst a number of other enquiries, I have also had the pleasure of working with several young entrepreneurs. Rather than making an assessment on their ideas (which would be very presumptuous) the task of the Economic Development Section is to assess the skills of the entrepreneur in each of the critical product, marketing and finance areas. We can then set out to match the entrepreneur with one or more 'mentors' to complement the areas of need.
