Digital mentoring for Bendigo businesses

SMALL and upcoming regional Victorian small businesses have the opportunity to grow thanks to the Digital Solutions mentoring program.

Five Bendigo-based mentors are involved in the Australian Small Business Advisory Services scheme, including Bryley Savage of marketing agency Friendly Savage and Briana Cowan from social media management company Mingle Media.

“It’s such a fantastic initiative to be part of,” Ms Savage said. “Since the program commenced in Bendigo in 2019, I’ve connected with over 100 business owners across Victoria and in two to three hours you can cover a lot of material when it’s a one-on-one meeting.”

Ms Cowan, who has eight years of experience with social media in Central Victoria, said the program can benefit any company looking to expand online.

“The sessions are tailored to the business owner or staff member, and being one-on-one, we can really deep-dive into their business and uncover what strategies will help their business grow through social media,” she said.

Other mentors from Bendigo include Phillip Souter and Jacob Kiel from cyber security service provider Digital Resilience, and Brenton Johnson who’s the founder of ICT consultancy agency Uptake Digital.

Eligible small businesses will have access to up to three hours of mentoring, online workshops, webinars and courses to help them sustain their businesses online.

The mentoring costs $44 and will cover websites, social media, software and online security, and data privacy.

To be involved, businesses must be based in Victoria, have an ABN and have less than 20 employees. For more information head to courses.melbourneinnovation.com.au/home.