SPREADING GOOD NEWS Vanita Haley recalls the day an email popped up in her inbox seven years ago. The mum-of-five had been wanting to get back into the workforce, and the message delivered some exciting news- the Drouin Newsagency and Tatts was for sale. “The business was close to home and it had a great reputation, being owned and operated by the same family for 40 years,” Vanita said. “So (my husband Mark) and I checked it out and before we knew it, we had made an offer and it was accepted straight away.” The Nilma couple haven’t looked back since. Whilst raising five kids and juggling their sporting events and weekend activities, Vanita and Mark managed to make the business a roaring success with a revolving door of new and loyal customers. “Drouin would have to be one of the loveliest places on earth for friendly country people,” Vanita said. “The town is really bustling with people and businesses, and it has grown substantially in the seven years we have been here. We have been lucky to have so many regular customers that have become a part of our lives. There is always great banter, jokes galore and great support too. We always look forward to seeing them.
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It is really a fantastic part of owning a business- something we didn’t expect when we bought it.” Since purchasing the business, Mark and Venita undertook major renovations to better utilise the space to greet their customers and display popular products. They have become a deposit place for Ladbrokes, a pick-up point for parcels and were also one of the first businesses to go Digi-Pos for Tatts Lotto. And, in staying with the ever-changing digital world, they created their own Facebook and Instagram pages to keep in touch with locals. The impressive changes created such a ‘wow’ factor that they won the title of Lottery Agent of the Year in VANA as well as Victorian Newsagent of the Year in 2016. They were also nominated for the Australian Newsagent of the Year and were a finalist. “No other newsagencies have ever won these two awards in the same year! It was fantastic and really not expected,” Vanita said. “It was something we weren’t trying to do, but it was so amazing that all our efforts and gamble of changing the shop paid off. It was awesome to be put into the same category as other great newsagents who had been in business for years.”
