At the Bluebird Cafe and Bar (which does open on Sundays), Goulburn Heritage Group members Adrian Beresford-Wylie (left) and Jane Reardon (right) discussing issues of mutual interest with Business2580 executive members Kelly McClelland, Ben Finlayson and president Josh Matthews. Collaboration and revitalising the main street were among the items on the agenda. The business group is keen to meet more community groups to find ways of helping their members in the city and surrounding areas. Photo: John Thistleton.
Goulburn is almost closed for business on Sundays because it has become too costly for cafes and shops to open their doors, says Josh Matthews.
Mr Matthews, president of Business2580, the rebranded and reinvigorated former Chamber of Commerce, says the most pressing issue for members is the high cost of doing business: paying staff, rent, overheads and retaining staff.
“This is why Goulburn is not open on a Sunday. It’s too expensive,” he said.
“I would love to change that, I would love to see our cafes and restaurants open on a Sunday and the main street buzzing.”
Revitalising the CBD and having a special entertainment precinct with set trading hours and sound conditions to support live performances, which Goulburn Mulwaree Council is proposing, would be a key to opening up the town on a Sunday.
In the meantime, Business2580 has created its own buzz, restructuring its membership fees, relaunching its website, appointing a bigger, more engaged executive and signing up new members.
A tiered fee structure has replaced the flat rate, which required all members, whether a hairdresser or a branch of a national firm, to pay the same amount.
“Whereas now the bigger organisations pay more, the smaller sole traders and not-for-profits pay less,” Mr Matthews said.
“We knew it was too expensive, we looked at the type of members we had and they were all that middle band of business – eight to 20 employees. We were missing that sole trader – trades, smaller retail shops.”
A solicitor in Goulburn, Mr Matthews is passionate about supporting smaller businesses, which do not have money for things such as a human resources department or applying for grants, to compete against bigger operators.
Establishing a new website, business2580.com.au, the executive has made it easier to join online and gain access to a new membership portal, organisational documents, business directory and all the online resources of Business NSW.
“The rebrand has paid dividends in that people are more interested in who we are, what we are doing,” Mr Matthews said. “We are receiving new members at the moment just about every day and people are calling us to ask about where they can join up.”
Touring Tribe Breweries recently with its chief executive Heath Baker was an eye-opener for Business2580 members.
“I was gobsmacked at what they do and the sheer quantity, efficiency of their operation, from brewing beer to bottling, capping it, putting stickers on it, putting it into cartons and shipping it out,” Mr Matthews said. “And brands that you otherwise would not think of were coming out of Goulburn.”
Member for Eden-Monaro Kristy McBain spoke at the meeting, about the Australian Government’s initiatives for small business, and Deputy Mayor of Goulburn Mulwaree Caitlin Flint also spoke.
At a subsequent early morning meeting at the Goulburn Race Club, Mayor Nina Dillon spoke about council issues. Goulburn Mulwaree’s senior strategic planner David Kiernan gave members an overview of a transformation project to revitalise the CBD. Race club chief executive Robyn Fife also spoke.
“It was a beautiful meeting. We got to see horses out doing trackwork early in the morning as the sun came over Goulburn, so it was beautiful,” Mr Matthews said.
The business group will host a Meet the Candidates evening on Thursday, 10 April, at 6 o’clock at the Goulburn Golf Club and plans to host Telstra to talk about artificial intelligence in business.
“We are always looking for a venue at a local business to host our meetings,” Mr Matthews said.
The goal is to connect people to businesses, and hosting a meeting enables them to promote their enterprise to at least 50 other traders.
Mr Matthews said Goulburn had a wonderful sense of community, and businesses should have an injection of energy from Business2580 to get people excited about what’s happening in the town, such as the revitalisation of the CBD.
He first came to Goulburn to manage the Telstra shop. Six years ago he began a law degree and was admitted to the Supreme Court last year.
“The legal profession as a whole needs a bit of a shake-up,” he said. “It’s not all about ‘big law’, there are a lot of great little law firms that are doing wonderful things in niche areas of practice.’’
