local business
with Michael Shadforth, Ray White Commercial North Coast Central
Challenges of running your business! On my recent push bike ride across America, I managed to take in a lot of the countryside, despite my aching bones and weary eyes. However, what was interesting was that the start and finish points were both coastal towns that were only about an hour’s drive from a major city. The two were vastly different in terms of economic activity. One was a sleepy town with beautiful beaches and a large pier and was ostensibly a holiday destination. Development was almost non-existent and the economy was visibly struggling with “vacant” signs littered across many of the commercial properties. By contrast the other was vibrant and bustling and there appeared to be no vacant shops. The people I talked to had a clear and positive vision about what the future held for their region. It occurred to me that the second town had a vibe that seemed to resonate from their small bars, café and standalone food courts. The people I spoke to either lived in this town or were visiting someone that did. A lot of the town’s residents were well educated and drove to work in the larger,
neighbouring city where they were well paid. They simply preferred to live on the coast for the lifestyle. The other thing I noticed was the amount of commentary in the business media about “talent attraction”. It appears to be the new buzz word and this is where, if you put the two together, you have the foundations to start building a vibrant economy. As a business you are going to be competing against other business, potentially from all around the world. To be successful today you are going to need world class staff and to attract those people you will need to entice them with more than money. It is time for the Sunshine Coast to really start to be actively focussing on the social aspects of the talent required for a vibrant world class region. To do this we must embrace all forms of hospitality, business and cultural events because this, along with our natural advantages, puts us right at the top of everyone’s list of places to live if they are able to make a living at the same time.
Michael Shadforth is President of the Caloundra Chamber of Commerce, President of Sunshine Coast Chambers Alliance and Managing Director of Ray White Commercial North Coast Central. ca 1300 25 50 75 // www.raywhitecommercialnorthcoastcentral.com
BUSINESS MATTERS 19
