Local business owners and operators are celebrating the launch of a new Blue Mountains business directory that will showcase the region’s more than 5,500 businesses.
The BusinessBM.com.au business directory has been created as part of the bushfire grant-funded Blue Mountains Business Community Resilience Project, which is focused on building resilient business communities across the 26 towns of the Blue Mountains.
The project is a collaboration between corporate2community (C2C), a leader in business
community disaster resilience, and BusinessBM, the region’s new business network.
BusinessBM director and spokesman Lawrence Atkinson said the directory would help businesses to connect with each other, and also improve their visibility and accessibility with newer residents to the Blue Mountains looking for key services.
“This project is very much about keeping Blue Mountains businesses in business,” Lawrence said.
“We want to build a strong and resilient local economy, and the best way we can do that is by coming together as a business community. By working with one another, we can thrive not just as individual businesses but also as a regional community.”
Faulconbridge business owner Meagan Witton (pictured) jumped at the chance to sign up to the new business directory.
“We launched our business Miss Figgy Grazing Boards last October at the tail end of the last lot of lockdowns,” Meagan said. “We’ve been creating grazing boards for our friends and family for the past few years. It was really a side hobby, and last year we decided to just go for it and launch our business. It has just taken off.”
Meagan said the directory would prove popular with fellow business owners and operators who have struggled following the bushfires and during the pandemic.
“A local business directory makes it a lot easier for us to reach potential new customers and also connect with local suppliers,” she said.
corporate2community Director Renae Hanvin said the business directory is part of a raft of grant initiatives that underpins the project’s aim to build disaster preparedness and resilience in the Blue Mountains.
“We know local businesses form the backbone of regional communities, and when they start working together and sharing their knowledge, a powerful shift occurs and everyone in the community benefits,” Ms Hanvin said.
In addition to the business directory, the BusinessBM.com.au website now includes useful links and resources for Blue Mountains businesses covering resilience, mental health and wellbeing, and networking. These website enhancements offer support for local business owners and operators in establishing their own local networks and to stay connected.
