New workshop initiative launches to support Hawkesbury small businesses meet growing digital demand

Small businesses across Hawkesbury will have the opportunity to take part in a free online workshop designed to help them strategically plan digital initiatives, identify and respond to business risks and implement resilience strategies.

The initiative, aimed at supporting some of the 800,000+ small businesses in Hawkesbury and across New South Wales, is being rolled out by Optus together with business training experts Dynamic Uplift with the one-day workshop available online to ensure access for all regional small businesses.

Emma Jensen, VP Small Business at Optus said: “Through listening to our customers across NSW, we know that digital capability – and keeping up to date as it rapidly changes - is one of the key issues that small businesses face. We felt there was a real opportunity for Optus to add value by offering a solution to help educate small businesses and reimagine their own digital strategy.“

“The FutureFit workshops will enable small businesses in Hawkesbury to better understand and leverage technology such as AI, social media, digital marketing tools and website development, with the goal of making their business more resilient in a digital age.”

The workshops run by Dynamic Uplift take a gamified approach, incorporating interactive canvases and cards as well as user-friendly apps to simplify complex processes and meet the needs of small businesses regardless of their digital maturity stage. The workshops will cover a number of topics including:

• Putting digital in context – understanding why it’s critical for every business.
• How to better leverage artificial intelligence and the right apps
• Understanding what 'digital' could mean for your business, customers, and partners.
• Evaluating your current digital capability and competitive position.
• Planning and implementing your digital strategy.

Robert Kinkade, Director, South Pacific Digital at Dynamic Uplift said, “Australia is well progressed on the shift to the digital age, and no business is immune to the impacts of digital disruption, regardless of size.”

“Many small to mid-sized businesses are seeking urgent support without the budget to hire consulting firms or other advisors, and the business owners and operators are time constrained, meaning that they only have days to devote to this critical agenda, not weeks or months.”

The FutureFit workshop will be held on Tuesday 19 March from 10am to 4pm. Small businesses who are interested in attending are invited to register via https://www.optus.com.au/business/futurefit.

• Topics:

• Workshops
• Local Business / Economy
• Science and Technology