We recently had a chance to talk with Betty Bouras - a recipient of a scholarship from the City of Charles Sturt to access Business SA's Encore Program. The program is for people aged 35 or above looking to either establish a new business or grow an existing one.
This 12 month government-funded program helps entrepreneurs turn their ideas into reality or where a business already exists - provides support to create a sustainable business model.
We wanted to learn more about Betty’s learnings from the Encore Program.
How did you hear about the program?
I became a Business SA member in 2021 and the upcoming Encore Program for small business entrepreneurs was advertised through their Business SA newsletter. This grabbed my attention as a new small business owner.
What motivated you to apply and what were you hoping to get out of the program?
I attended the Information evening at Business SA for the Encore Program. After finding out more about the program in the areas of business skills, knowledge, and guidance to make for a successful business plan, I was ready to take the next step of enrolling for the program. This would help me gain confidence in developing a successful business in conveyancing.
Also learning about the possibility of funding from the City of Charles Sturt, where I was based, was going to be a bonus to help me through my journey.
Can you tell us more about your business?
I am a registered conveyancer and started my business, Beltana Conveyancing, in May 2020 after being made redundant from employment with a conveyancing firm due to Covid. I took some time to think about my future within my field of expertise, which was always going to be a business owner in Conveyancing. It just happened a little sooner than I had originally planned.
I wanted the flexibility of working on my own terms and providing a professional service to my own clients for their property matters.
Conveyancing is a service-based industry where I help clients with their property sale or purchase and other conveyancing matters. I take time to learn more about my clients and understand their situation, answer all their questions to provide that specialised service they deserve.
Can you give us some examples of how the program has helped you?
Being a structured program, it has helped me in several ways. It helped me understand my ‘why’ and areas I had to explore in my business model, for example marketing and brand awareness, social platform presence, and business modelling in general.
It also helped me expand on the steps I had already implemented, such as understanding the legal structure I had in place, financials, and making sure I could measure my key performance indicators.
Finally, the one-page roadmap for the vision of my business was a valuable tool for putting my business model into perspective and a good canvas to expand on.
What workshops did you attend as part of the program?
My goal was to attend all workshops as I had this opportunity to learn something that would help me with my business model from each workshop. I ended up attending all workshops except the Human Resources workshop and another group workshop due to illness.
I found the Sales and Customer Service, Marketing, and Digital Strategy workshops very rewarding, as they helped me understand the value of having knowledge in these areas and implementing what I learnt.
What has your mentorship experience been like?
Having a mentor has been very rewarding and made the experience more positive and comfortable. My mentor helped me understand how I needed to proceed for my specific business and the stage at which my business was at. He answered all my questions and encouraged me to work on the areas relevant to me and for my business outcome. He helped me feel at ease and not so overwhelmed by all the information.
The focus was to only plan for 1 to 3 years into the future of my business plan and focus on the areas to help me understand why I would implement strategies, useful to my business outcome.
I had the confidence to reach out to my mentor when I needed help or had some questions that I needed some guidance with.
Do you find the environment of City of Charles Sturt to be supportive of the entrepreneurs and business owners?
Yes, the City of Charles Sturt have been very supportive and validating with many of the areas covered in the Encore program and from a different perspective through keynote speakers about different topics of interest to business owners at their events.
Their regular information and networking events are great for business owners in the area to get to know each other and learn about each other’s businesses. The connections made are valuable for helping each other out when we understand what we all do and how we help the community.
What is next for your business?
Beltana Conveyancing wants to create a strong presence in the western and surrounding suburbs with the service provided for the community. I have started to do this by implementing lots of what I have learnt through my business plan and continuing to network within the community.
I have engaged a marketing consultant to help me with my social media and Google exposure for online presence and to build a strong foundation for my business to grow.
My focus is to grow my client base so that I can employ an assistant to help with my administrative duties within the 12 to 18 months, so I can work more on my business.
Encore is taking enquiries for their February 2024 intake.