Ballan business owner leads the way for locals

TIMES are tough for small businesses nationwide, and those within Moorabool Shire are not immune.

Looking for local answers, this week we caught up with Ballan and District Chamber of Commerce committee member and the owner of Springfields Garage Ballan, Rebecca Treadwell.

Ms Treadwell took up tow truck driving part-time for Springfields about 10 years ago as something new, and she enjoyed it so much that she eventually moved herself into “the business side of things”.

By 2019, she’d bought the whole kit and kaboodle.

With seven other employees, Ms Treadwell said business can be fun, but also stressful.

“We’ve seen a big change since COVID – people aren’t spending the money on their cars or maintaining them as they were beforehand,” she said.

“We’ve lost revenue due to that. Times have changed and this is the new normal.

“It’s challenging, but that’s life, isn’t it? Anything worth achieving doesn’t come without hard work.”

Ms Treadwell said that in Ballan, uncertain conditions are having an effect across the board.

“Shops are closing left, right and centre,” she said.

“There’s new tenants moving in and out of failed businesses constantly.

“I’m not sure whether this is to do with rent being too high, or to do with (bureaucracy)?

“Or, is it impossible to get a business off the ground if you don’t know what the future holds?”

She said her voluntary role with the chamber of commerce is in some ways trying to help relieve some of those fears.

“We approach business owners and (tell them) we’re somewhere they can talk about issues they’re having, because maybe we’ve experienced that,” she said.

“No one knows about the problems that a small business has unless they’re another small business.

“You need to talk things out loud with like-minded people, because everything works better if you’re doing it in collaboration.”

Proof that all is not lost, one ongoing success story is close to Ms Treadwell’s heart.

“A donut man put a post on a Ballarat Facebook page asking, ‘Do you know any business owners that would be willing to have us on their land to sell donuts tomorrow night?’

“Someone tagged me in it and I said, ‘Okay, yeah, why not?’

“He sold out within an hour and a half and I thought, we’re definitely missing something here.

“Then I jumped on a Melbourne Food Truck Facebook page and said, ‘Listen, I’ve got a place on the main street of Ballan and the town is starving’.

“The response was overwhelming. I’ve got probably 15 vans booked in moving forward.

“We’re (practically) not competing with anybody, I don’t charge a fee, and if nobody else wants to step up, why can’t we bring people in?

“These are all small businesses who are struggling as well, and if (locals) are willing to spend their money, I’m happy to provide a place here.”