Love Your Local: A campaign and expo to help SMEs learn and grow
Wyndham City Council’s new Love Your Local campaign is a testament to the power of positive action in the face of gloomy economic forecasts.
Wyndham City Council’s new Love Your Local campaign is a testament to the power of positive action in the face of gloomy economic forecasts.
By reminding and encouraging residents and businesses to think and buy local, the campaign aims to keep more money circulating within the community, building on a COVID-era trend towards more conscious consumption.
As part of the campaign, the city will host its first ever Proudly Wyndham Business Expo on November 28. This exciting B2B event will feature more than 50 exhibitors showcasing the unique, diverse and essential range of goods and services that Melbourne’s west has to offer. There will also be a series of free workshops to help SMEs learn, innovate and grow.
Learn more about the Proudly Wyndham Business Expo on November 28 from 9am to 4pm.
Rallying behind the community
You probably don’t need to be told that Australian businesses are struggling at the moment. Household spending has been trending south since mid-2022, and although fears of further rate hikes are easing slightly, consumer sentiment remains on rocky ground.
Yet Wyndham seems to be a rare pocket of economic growth. In 2023, for example, retail trade generated $1.6 billion to Wyndham’s economy and employed more than 11,500 people (up 97% since 2013), making it the second-highest employing industry as a percentage of the local workforce.
Meanwhile, from 2020 to 2023, Wyndham’s gross regional product rose by 22%, there was a 24% increase in local jobs, and the number of registered businesses rose by 47% to 31,837.
Still, every community exists within a broader context, and Wyndham City Council knew it had to find a way to support important sectors and the businesses within them that contribute significantly to the local economy.
Remembering the way the people rallied around local businesses during the pandemic, the Council developed the Love Your Local campaign to build on that support, providing a timely reminder that: when you buy local, you invest in your community.
Whether purchasing a gift, dining out with family, or sourcing a local supplier for your business, the money you spend locally stays local, circulating within the community, supporting local jobs and boosting the economy.
In fact, a “Buy Local Analysis” conducted by the Council’s Economic Development team found that for every $100 spent at a local business, $67 stays in Wyndham. That’s compared to just $4 when people shop online with a non-Wyndham business.
How we spread the love when we buy local
For every $100 spent at a locally owned and operated business, the Buy Local Analysis found that $26.45 goes to local expenditure, $26.84 to wages and salaries, and $13.87 to gross operating surplus.
This leads to something called the “multiplier effect”, an economic term that measures the impact that a change in economic activity—such as spending—will have on the total economic output of something.
The multiplier effect means the value of that $67 not only recirculates within the community, but is amplified in value through further local spending.
In other words, when you buy local, your money helps to create and support local jobs. It keeps your community unique by sustaining a diverse range of local businesses and by maintaining demand for local skills and trades. It goes towards supporting local schools, community groups, and charities. And it reduces your environmental impact to boot.
As part of its campaign, Wyndham City Council also suggests several other ways you can support local businesses without spending a cent. For example, by:
- Following local businesses on social media,
- Posting positive reviews of local products or services you have enjoyed,
- Telling friends, family, neighbours about local businesses you love,
- Signing up to business newsletters,
- Refer to and use Council’s online business directory for local suppliers.
An Expo to help you learn and grow
The Proudly Wyndham Business Expo has been specifically designed as a B2B initiative to help SMEs network, innovate, learn and grow. Business owners can therefore pick and choose from a series of workshops, including a featured session by sponsor, RMIT University.
There will also be a series of practical 45-minute sessions on how to grow your business with SEO, website analytics, and Facebook ads, as well as critical workshops dedicated to cybersecurity, energy-cost savings, navigating local data, and mental wellbeing.
Business owners can connect and learn about essential local service providers for their own business needs, with more than 50 exhibitors showcasing their goods and services. These include digital agencies, accounting and finance services, health insurers, IT consultancies, recruitment services, merchandise specialists, manufacturers, printing and packaging services, and Wyndham’s business groups and associations.
Throughout the day, attendees can have a professional headshot taken at the Expo’s two locally supplied photobooths, which will instantly capture and issue high-quality photos.
After it wraps, there will be a networking event from 4-6pm, where attendees can swap stories, learnings and ideas, creating a new community of engaged, supportive, and future-ready business leaders.
The expo will run from 9am to 4pm on November 28 at the Encore Events Centre in Hoppers Crossing. It is a completely free event, although registrations are essential.
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