“BECs are very well known in their local communities, but not really in the national media. We need to do much more to push our brand as a national network.”
State governments need to be brought on board first, with Zelinsky currently doing the rounds to garner further funding for the BEC network.
NSW, which has upped its contribution from $2.5 million to $5 million, has been “terrific”, Zelinksy says, but other states have been more problematic.
Potentially most difficult is South Australia, which hacked away at its $100 million small business budget in 2010 and has since presided over the closure of Innovate SA, the state’s premier innovation centre.
“There are nine BECs in the Adelaide metropolitan area so there’s no question that too much has gone into that area,” says Zelinksy. “I anticipate that there may be fewer BEC members there in the future. They may choose to not stay in the network.”
“It’s absolutely critical that the states provide money. They need to do the same as the Federal Government – ideally, I’d like to see an equal amount of funding coming from the states and the Commonwealth.”
Meanwhile, Zelinsky is busy keeping the BECs service delivery up-to-date. Many of the centres are staffed by retired business owners, with little online or social media interaction with businesses.
This model is slowly changing, with businesses pointed to online resources for basic information on business plans, funding and growth opportunities. They are then assigned a mentor for more focused, one-on-one advice on specific areas, rather than generalities.
The BEC network recently held a live online streaming event that saw 1,400 questions submitted to O’Connor, enabling small businesses from different areas of the country to interact.
“That kind of online networking hasn’t been available before and we hope the NBN will help us roll that out nationally,” says Zelinsky.
“We need to look at how the world is changing and use social media. Getting a few younger mentors would be a good thing too, but generally speaking there’s nothing like knowing the pain of running a business yourself.”
“Cashflow was always an important academic term for me, but it wasn’t until I had my own business and nearly lost my house that I realised exactly how important it is. BECs themselves are micro businesses. They get what you’re going through because they live it themselves.”
Creating an integrated, joined-up network remains a hurdle, however.
“We want to create a virtual BEC that is shaped to meet a certain geographical area, but is standardised,” says Zelinsky.
“There’s no real standardisation across the network. Some BECs charge $80 and offer two free mentoring sessions, for example, while others will charge $200.”
“Obviously a BEC in far north Queensland won’t be in the same situation as one in central Sydney, but we need a standardised model.”
But given the slew of online help and advice for small businesses, isn’t the very notion of a place where you walk in for a face-to-face interaction rather outmoded? Zelinksy thinks not.
“Over the next decade, there will be more emphasis on mentors becoming website navigators, but people still like to see people,” she says.
“There isn’t such a pendulum swing to online yet that people don’t need someone they can see.”
