On behalf of the City of Greater Geelong, I am delighted to welcome you to the Geelong Small Business Festival.
Small business is the backbone of our local economy with our region home to more than 21,500 small businesses.
For 13 years, the City of Greater Geelong has proudly hosted this festival, delivering 630 events which have attracted more than 29,000 attendees.
In 2024, we’re excited to partner with the Geelong Chamber of Commerce, to bring you the 14th edition of the festival.
This year, we’re especially excited to showcase events at our new Civic Precinct, a testament to Geelong’s recent growth and transformation.
Small business owners continue to help shape our community thanks to their creativity, innovation and resilience, and the Geelong Small Business Festival is a perfect opportunity to support and highlight their contributions. Through a series of engaging workshops, inspiring keynote speakers, and valuable networking opportunities, we aim to empower our local businesses to reach new heights.
Thank you for joining us, and we hope you leave inspired and empowered to successfully continue your business journey.
CR TRENT SULLIVAN
Mayor, City of Greater Geelong
As the CEO of the Geelong Chamber of Commerce, I am thrilled to extend a warm welcome to all attendees, hosts, and contributors. This festival embodies our steadfast commitment to fostering partnerships and investing in the vibrant business community that forms the backbone of our region.
Our Chamber is dedicated to building strong relationships and driving economic growth. Thriving business environments drive business success. This festival is a testament to our passionate for business and celebrating success, local success.
Throughout the festival, you will have the opportunity to connect with likeminded professionals, gain valuable insights, and discover new avenues for growth. We are proud to support and deliver a festival focused on the resources and connections businesses need to succeed.
Thank you to our festival major partners City of Greater Geelong and Morris; and thank you for being a part of this dynamic community. Let’s continue to drive business success together.
JEREMY CRAWFORD CEO Geelong Chamber of Commerce
More than 50 free and low-cost events designed to upskill, connect and inspire our local business community.
Events range seven themes, covering:
• Marketing, social media and promoting your business online.
• Business essentials.
• Starting a business.
• Growing your business, sales and expanding your networks.
• Career development, leading and managing people.
• Health and wellbeing.
• Sustainability, circular economy and social responsibility.
To ensure you have a smooth and enjoyable experience at our events, please refer to the main hub locations and travel recommendations.
Festival Hubs
The majority of Geelong Small Business Festival events will be held in three main Hub locations.
To make the most of your event session, we recommend:
• Arriving early. Plan to arrive a little earlier to settle in and avoid any rush.
• Parking. Check local parking options in advance.
• Public Transport. Consider using public transport where possible.
Each location is accessible via local bus routes, visit ptv.vic.gov.au/journey/ for schedules and routes.
Festival hubs proudly supported by
LAUNCH
A I is here: Are you ready? NADIA LEE
Founder and CEO, ThatsMyFace
Thursday 8 August 5.30pm - 8.00pm
THE PIER GEELONG 10 WESTERN FORESHORE ROAD, GEELONG
AI is here: Are you ready? Join Nadia Lee, as she shares how she built a worldfirst solution in identity and reputation management.
ThatsMyFace leads with the world’s first privacy-preserving facial recognition software, revolutionising biometric identity verification globally.
Nadia’s expertise extends to AI policy research, where she serves as Industry Partner at Reclaim Coalition and contributes to the Content Authenticity Initiative alongside industry giants like Adobe and Microsoft.
This event is proudly supported by Morris
Visit geelong.link/GSBFLaunch for tickets and more information.
The evening promises to be a blend of innovation, inspiration, and local flavour, set against the stunning backdrop of The Pier Geelong.
• Explore ‘The Paddock’, an immersive showcase of Geelong’s vibrant agribusiness sector.
• Engage directly with local producers, tasting their distinctive products and discovering sustainable practices.
• Support local businesses while experiencing the innovative flavours that define Geelong’s agribusiness community.
THE PADDOCK BUSINESSES
Bellarine Distillery
Using homegrown botanicals and the finest global flavors, Bellarine Distillery blends tradition with innovation.
Flores Cakes
Their sweet treats, cakes and cupcakes can be designed to celebrate your special occasion and only use the best quality ingredients.
Geelong Region Olives
The region’s biggest producer of boutique extra virgin olive oils and aims to be environmentally sustainable and commercially viable.
Hahndorf’s Fine Chocolates
Known for their cafe and chocolate shops, and over 90 varieties of chocolates including gift boxes and hampers, bars, blocks, coated chocolate, novelties and much more.
Irrewarra Sourdough
Irrewarra is known for producing Victoria’s most-loved sourdough and Australia’s finest granola. They have been using traditional methods and simple, natural ingredients for more than 20 years.
Juice Culture
A Geelong based fresh and raw cold pressed juice company using 100% Australian grown produce.
Lard Ass Butter
Lard Ass values the simple, age-old approach to creating tasty, creamy butter using European imported cultures. It looks and feels like butter with a fresh hearty taste.
Meredith Dairy
The largest farm of its kind in Australia. Their aim is to value-add all farm produce, not just milk, to produce the best products and farm in a responsible and sustainable way.
Asset Finance in a class above the rest.
Morris Business Class is a new pinnacle of personalised service tailored specifically for the Greater Geelong, Werribee, and Surf Coast business community. For over 25 years, Morris has been assisting businesses with specialty asset finance lending. As a client of Morris Business Class, you will receive a personalised service and a streamlined process redefining excellence. CALL 1300 4
People First.
Always talk to a real person. Our friendly team are here to help you find a finance solution fit for you.
Dedicated Account Executive. Benefit from a dedicated Finance Account Executive and a direct line of communication for the term of the loan.
Streamlined Process. Morris have optimised the documentation process, eliminating long wait times and red tape, guaranteeing you a swift and efficient experience.
Over 150 Lending Products. Morris has access to industry leading pricing and over 150 lending products.
Over 25 Years of Specialised Experience. Specialised expertise which can only come from over 25 years both local business exposure and industry wide experience.
Peace of Mind.
Morris has a high level Compliance Operating Standards providing client peace of mind.
BUSINESS SUPPORT
Whether you’re looking to start, grow or invest in a local business, the Business and Industry Experience team are committed to providing you with the right advice and relevant information to help your business.
Our local business support includes:
• Supplying local economic insights to help with informed decisions.
• Delivering programs and events that support business growth and upskill our workforce.
• Identifying available grants and funding opportunities.
To help grow and diversify our economy, we:
• Collaborate with business and industry experts to explore opportunities for Greater Geelong.
• Advocate for strategic projects that underpin business and industry growth.
• Help address important local economic challenges.
“We can assist new and existing businesses through our business concierge service, mentoring, networking and training programs, as well as business and marketing support. I encourage small businesses to make the most of the opportunities on offer from the City.”
Mayor Trent Sullivan
DID YOU KNOW?
There are more than 21,500 small businesses in Greater Geelong, and they make up around 97 per cent of all businesses. It is estimated that small businesses in Greater Geelong generate $9 billion revenue.
FIND OUT MORE
Subscribe to our E-newsletter Search the latest business events in our region
Learn how we can help you Contact our team
WEEK 1 EVENTS
Monday 12 August
• From startup to superbowl - bookings
• Performance conversations – when our people are experiencing personal or mental health challenges - bookings
• Implementing paid domestic and family violence leave in the workplacebookings
• Setting up new employees for success - bookings
• Lead generation: the secret to building an online marketing machine - bookings
• Get more organic website traffic – a beginners guide to SEO - bookings
• Cyber risks for small businesses: Red flags and simple strategic actionsbookings
• Hospitality networking event - bookings
Tuesday 13 August
• Financing for growth - bookings
• Image branding workshop - bookings
• A guide to your super obligationsbookings
• Scaling your business with digital and AI solutions - bookings
• Navigating financial success in small business - bookings
• Communicating with impact - bookings
• Lessons learned - bookings
Wednesday 14 August
• CANVA and content creation for small business - bookings
• How generative AI is supercharging organisations today - bookings
• Apprenticeships and traineeship support forum - bookings
• Starting a home-based food businessbookings
• Strategic brand storytelling: Crafting stories that sell - bookings
• Basic food labelling for food businesses - bookings
• Get Microsoft copilot ready - bookings
• Marketing for trade services - bookings
Thursday 15 August
• Westpac economic breakfast - bookings
• First impressions count: Tips around how to improve your new client experience - bookings
• Confidence on camera - bookings
• Insights from real life experiences to build a better business - bookings
• Is it time to scale your business?bookings
• The CFOs playbook: Tips for business growth - bookings
• Setting you up for business success: HR fundamentals - bookings
• How to innovate - bookings
• Top 3 challenges facing business owners, and how to overcome thembookings
Friday 16 August
• AI for small business - bookings
• Enhance your business with tourismbookings
• AI made easy for small business success - bookings
WEEK 2 EVENTS
Monday 19 August
• Get back an hour in every daybookings
• The community sport and business ecosystem - bookings
• Financial literary and business funding - bookings
• Mentoring your success - bookings
• Crucial employment law updatebookings
• Start selling online: A beginner’s guide to ecommerce - bookings
• Negotiating commercial leases from the tenant’s perspective - bookings
• Crack the leadership code: Essential strategies for aspiring leadersbookings
• Podcast power hour - bookings
• Inner strength: Resilient strategies for business owners - bookings
• Unleashing reels, YouTube shorts and TikTok’s for social media successbookings
• Insider insight: Your business legal action plan - bookings
Tuesday 20 August
• Understanding and harnessing the power of local media - bookings
• Storytelling for brands - bookings
• Local SEO: Get found in your areabookings
Wednesday 21 August
• Connect, lead and thrive - bookings
• Strategies for small business successbookings
• Business finance 101 - bookings
• Navigating the NDIS audit process with confidence - bookings
• The rewards of building a deliberately developmental company - bookings
• Tapping into the strengths of neurodivergence in the workplacebookings
Thursday 22 August
• Supporting mental wellbeing at workbookings
• How to create a brand with heartbookings
• Conflict resolution essentials - bookings
• Smart business: Energy efficiency for small business - bookings
• Business as a force for good: Networking event - bookings
Friday 23 August
• NEXUS Clean Economy Showcasebookings
WESTPAC ECONOMIC BREAKFAST
Join us for an insightful morning as Westpac’s Senior Economist, Justin Smirk, shares his expert analysis and forecasts on the current economic landscape. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain valuable economic insights from one of the best in the field.
Thursday 15 August
7.00am – 9.00am
GMHBA Stadium
$85 +GST Geelong Chamber members
$115 + GST non members.
BOOK NOW
COMPLETE SURVEY AND WIN
We’d appreciate your feedback –so we can continue to improve the Geelong Small Business Festival. Go into the draw for some great local produce hampers!
Simply attend an event, complete and submit your survey feedback, and go into the draw to win!
City of Greater Geelong
Wurriki Nyal, 137-149 Mercer St, Geelong
P: 03 5272 5272
E: ecodev@geelongcity.vic.gov.au
Geelong Chamber of Commerce
City Hall, 30 Gheringhaap St, Geelong
P: 03 5222 2234
E: reception@geelongchamber.com.au
Check out the range of events on offer as part of the Geelong
We Acknowledge the Wadawurrung People as the Traditional Owners of the Land, Waterways and Skies. We pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging. We Acknowledge all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are part of our Greater Geelong community today.
