It is a trend that could reshape regional economies for decades to come. Record numbers of Australians are turning their backs on pandemic-hit big cities, taking advantage of being able to work from home, and relocating to commutable country towns and their lure of open space, fresh air and cheaper housing. This, in turn, is creating new jobs and business opportunities.

So, what attributes do you need to become a successful entrepreneur? Fred Schebesta is the founder of Finder, one of Australia’s largest and best-known comparison sites. He shares his thoughts.

Looking forward, RDASI has an exciting year ahead filled with new opportunities, ideas and a few very big changes. Our most significant change is the appointment of our new chair to our board. RDASI welcomes Yass local, Rowena Abbey to our team. Rowena comes to us with years of economic development experience, being the Yass Valley council Mayor along with extensive business acumen and a dedication to Regional NSW.

The Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Territories Nola Marino announced the appointment of Rowena Abbey of Yass as the new Chair of Regional Development Australia Southern Inland (RDASI).

We have been honoured to be a part of the extremely successful SISP program and that we were selected as a pilot region. The program has significant momentum and has expanded to over 30 schools in 2020. In what has been a challenging year, the program has assisted schools and students to integrate STEM into the classroom and engage with industry.

Remember that old saying, if all the fish are swimming in one direction, dare to be different and swim in the opposite way. It’s kind of similar when it comes to lead generation and growing your business.

Prior to 14 December, an employer was required to allow an employee to work from home if it was practicable for them to do so. This saw working from home as the default position for many employees in NSW, especially office-based workers.

We’re all familiar with the stories of Australia Post’s increased parcel load at Christmas. The steady stream of packages, many from overseas, becomes a flood tide around this time of year. But at what cost to regional local businesses?

In October 2020, there were over 54,000 job vacancies advertised across regional Australia, a new record for the regions, topping the previous record of 50,000 in September.

In July last year Prue Swain and her husband Andrew bought a big, unloved building down a laneway in the NSW regional city of Orange. It had been the city’s St Vincent de Paul shop and warehouse. The entrepreneurial couple, aged in their mid-30s and with three young kids, had spotted an opening. Over the years they’d noticed the demographic of Orange was changing.

While the public service will be a big target of the NSW government’s pandemic-induced savings measures, NSW residents will get $100 worth of vouchers to spend on hospitality and entertainment.

There are promising signs for retailers as Christmas approaches, with Australians seemingly shaking off the shackles of a torrid year.

Businesses also appear to be finishing 2020 in a more buoyant mood with confidence rising to its highest level since mid-2019.

The countdown is on to National Agriculture Day on Friday, November 20, with all Australians urged to start planning their celebrations.

Now in its fourth year, Ag Day is proudly supported by the National Farmers Federation and the publisher of this masthead, Australian Community Media, and seeks to raise the profile of agriculture right across the community.

On the 12th November, the Southern Highlands Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SHCCI) and Regional Development Australia Southern Inland (RDASI) are launching the very first Highlands Connect in Mittagong.

The Australian Business Growth Fund has been formally established, enabling SMEs potential access to long-term equity capital investment of between $5 million and $15 million.

The funding will be available to established SMEs with annual revenue between $2 million and $100 million, which was recommended in the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman’s Affordable Capital for SME Growth report.

The government’s next wage subsidy program is expected to support nearly half a million young Aussies gain employment by incentivising businesses to hire with a hiring credit.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has announced a new $4 billion JobMaker hiring credit to help accelerate growth in employment during the COVID recovery by giving businesses incentives to take on additional employees that are young jobseekers aged 16 to 35 years old.

The government is allowing companies with turnover up to $5 billion to offset losses against previous profits on which tax has been paid, to generate a refund.

Loss carry-back will be available to around 1 million companies that employ up to 8.8 million workers, according to Tuesday’s budget.

There’s a very specific reaction one must become accustomed to when letting people in on their audacious goals. I used to find it quite polarising, but have begun to use it as a guide for whether or not my goals are big enough.

Generally speaking, if people don’t laugh at me, or look at me like I’m bonkers, when I tell them my aspirations, I know I haven’t set the bar high enough.

It would be a pity if in the rush to get workers back to the office the lessons learned from the forced working from home experiment were lost.

The genie is probably now out of the bottle in any case because the silver lining from the COVID-19 lockdown is that the potential of technology to change how and where we work has finally been realised.

Take a drive through any number of NSW South Coast towns impacted by last summer’s bushfires, and you’ll see communities busily getting on with the business of recovery. There’s a palpable sense of gratitude when you stop for a coffee, a browse in store, or check-in to spend a night