THE Warilla CBD has been invigorated, with other areas of Shellharbour possibly to follow, after the success of Energise Warilla, a week-long business advisory event.
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The event was designed to encourage networking between small businesses and community members in Warilla and Shellharbour.
Professional business consultants hosted workshops in social media, marketing, work cover and human resources, as well as personalised consultations to address matters raised by individuals.
Mayor of Shellharbour, Councillor Marianne Saliba said the event was a great way for local business owners to unite and support each other.
"Warilla has an active and diverse business community that is working together to improve their potential for success.
"We are proud to support our local businesses by facilitating opportunities for growth and connecting them with informative people and services.
"A lot of the businesses in Warilla are small and family run, at times owners can feel isolated," she said.
"This event was a great way for them to connect with each other.
"The main positive to be drawn from this event is to have business people talking to each other."
The focus of the event was to ensure longevity and growth for small business, to increase economic activity, generate employment opportunities in the area and revitalise Warilla as a business hub.
"It is often overlooked from the business side of things as it is mainly residential but there are various business areas in Warilla."
Cr Saliba was emphatic when asked if there was future plans to hold similar events in other parts of Shellharbour .
"Absolutely, we are working with the community and future developers to create central business districts which reflects the flavour of each town," she said.
Cr Saliba commended the initiative from the Warilla Business Chamber and council economic development manager, Trevor James for bringing the event to life.
"The push for the event really came from the Warilla Business Chamber who are enthusiastic in supporting current businesses.
"I must acknowledge the hard work of Trevor James, who was instrumental in running this event."
The three-way partnership between Warilla Business Chamber, Small Biz Connect Illawarra and Shellharbour City Council drew attendees from various sectors of the local business district including Local Area Command from Lake Illawarra Police Station Andrew Koutsoufis, Anna Watson, Stephen Jones, Gareth Ward, Mark Jones and Shellharbour council representatives attended including economic development manager, Trevor James.
Warilla Business Chamber committee member and publicity officer, Jayne Bachelor said those who attended the event left very satisfied with the services which were provided and they advice they received.
"The SmallBiz Bus consultants spoke with approximately 50 businesses.
"The best turn-out they had ever had," Mrs Bachelor said.
"The work cover adviser was extremely busy.
"I went along and found out a lot in terms of induction checklists and emergency and safety procedures."
