Many local businesses have found working from home, if you have one, a challenge especially when it comes to having staff or client meetings. Enter the Northern Rivers Business Hub.

The Northern Rivers Business Hub is a critical response partnership between Business NSW and Southern Cross University, along with Government agencies, to ensure businesses can access and be supported with a range of practical tools and advice. The Hub has hotdesks with laptops, meeting rooms and advisors along with a business lounge and tea/coffee making facilities. 

“It was a milestone moment opening the Northern Rivers Business Hub this week to support displaced and impacted businesses across the region with a place to belong, connect with fellow business leaders, be supported to access funding and take steps in their recovery after what has been one of the most devastating events to happen in our region.” Said Jane Laverty, Regional Manager, Business NSW

"We really wanted to create a space where people can feel comfortable, and now they've got somewhere to belong, that they can connect with their fellow business leaders and operators who have gone through the same experience."

"We see a whole range of businesses from smaller retailers through to manufacturers," Jane added.

"We have had professional services in today, we had one of the local law firms with some of their staff and accountancy firm with their staff."

"We have also been supporting a lot of our not-for-profits like North Coast Community Housing had their team in today and tomorrow we have a whole group coming in for a staff meeting."

The Business Hub has different work spaces within an open plan main room with partitions and a large private meeting room that is setup for video conferencing if need be.

"It's really enabling people to bring their staff together and start to get their plan for moving forward, which is really what we wanted to achieve with this. A lot of people have lost their equipment so they using our hot desks that we've got there. We've got eight laptops set up connected to a printer, or they just using the freestyle hot desk if they've got their own equipment," Jane said.

One part of business that has been causing problems for owners and managers is understanding and applying for the various grants that are now on offer. The Business Hub has direct help on hand so they can take you through your options and help you apply. These include Service NSW, Fair Trading, the Rural Financial Counselling Service and a team of Strengthening Business Advisors.

"Strengthening Business Advisors have been really important seeing businesses and helping them work through a plan for the plan," Jane explained, "So, a bit of a 10-point plan around what comes first. Many people walking through the door really are a bit shell-shocked and don't know where to start so the first thing we are doing is getting a cup of tea, having a chat to get a sense of their current situation and what their priorities are."

"Once we know their priorities, we are able to then connect them to the right support that is here in the hub."

As we know, some people have lost not just their homes but also their businesses so once the cleanup part of the recovery has been completed they are not sure what the next step is. According to Jane, this varies from person to person.

"You know, there's a lady I worked with just at the end of last week, and her thing was she wanted to be able to sleep at night. And so she wanted to get on and pay all of her bills. She came in her wellies and she'd just been cleaning and just couldn't wait any longer, she had to get up here, get onto a laptop and sort her suppliers out and make sure she didn't owe anyone any money."

"So it's even simple things like that. And now she knows the hub is here, and now she's got a bit of a step plan of what she'll come back to do next. She wasn't even ready yet to look at what funding she could access. But what she was able to take away with what she would need to have ready to go to do a funding application because it's not just a matter of getting online and filling in a form. You actually need to upload some documents to support your application. So we're helping people understand what that might be, and putting a bit of a plan together."

"We've also had a number of businesses access the biz rebuild, program, which is the $2,000 vouchers, and a $500 voucher for accountancy or business advisory services. So the two we had someone come in and had lost their laptop, and he just felt like you know, he lost an arm because he couldn't operate his business without his laptop. We were able to help him get on and do that application."

"One of the things you have to write is an impact statement and for a lot of people that have been through what they've been through that brings up those memories as well. So, again, really working with people and having that empathy and helping them to put something together that makes sense and once, you write that impact statement once you can use it many times through the other programs as well."

The Business Hub is situated at the Southern Cross University Campus, Military Road, East Lismore in Block A, Level 3 within the Enterprise Lab and is open from 8am to 6pm.

Basically, turn left once you pass the manned booth and it is the first building on the right. Use the Engineers entrance on level 1 to climb the stairs and follow the signs.