Small Business Week helping create South Australian success stories
Supercharging from start-ups to stars – Small Business Week helps build successful South Australian enterprises
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Listening to the advice of others has helped Holly Stratton supercharge her business from start-up to star show.
Stratton founded her business – A Taste of The Hills Festival – to support food and drink producers in the aftermath of the Cudlee Creek bushfires and the Covid-19 pandemic. When she talked to local producers, she realised the potential of a festival.
“I’d only been thinking of having a few small events,” Stratton says.
“But the more I spoke to people, the more they said it should be bigger, and the more people wanted to be part of it.”
The first festival, in 2023, was held in Mount George and attracted 600 guests. In 2024, it moved to Hahndorf, drawing 2000. This year it was at Lot 100 near Nairne, with more than 3000 attendees.
A key to success was the advice Stratton picked up from a Women in Business Foundations Program offered by the state government’s Office for Small and Family Business.
“You only know what you know,” Stratton says. “There are others out there who know more, and you should tap into them.”
The program boosted Stratton’s marketing and social media skills.
Her mentors helped her design a brand to reflect the bright, fun feel of a festival.
Using the mentor’s tips on social media, her reach has grown from 500 to more than 7000 connections.
The Foundations program is one of several streams in a $4m government initiative which has assisted more than 3900 entrepreneurial women.
Other streams include a localised networking program, Connecting Women in Business, and an advisory program run with leadership forum behind closed doors.
The Fearless Innovator program facilitates access to capital through Department of State Development grants for scale-ups.
The director of the Office for Small and Family Business, Kathryn Calaby, says women face specific barriers, such as access to capital and finding time for networking and skill development.
“Increasing women’s participation in business is good for growth, good for communities and good for the long-term health of our small business sector,” Calaby says.
Stratton, 33, who grew up in the Hills, is now negotiating with venues and exhibitors for the 2026 Hills festival.
She’s also started a new business in psychotherapy with an equestrian twist, and works as a relief schoolteacher.
Stratton says there’s never a perfect time to start a business, but her bigger fear would have been to regret not giving it a go.
“The life we live these days, it is so easy to be comfortable and not push yourself to try and create something,” she says. “A lot of people’s lives are really busy, but you can still find time if it’s important to you.”
The women’s programs are among many measures available to all small businesses.
Others include advice on sustainability, grants for energy upgrades, mental health support, and guidance on funding.
Hearing our shared stories a positive experience
Powerful drivers are encouraging small businesses to embrace the advantages of sustainability, a leading South Australian consultancy has found.
Firstly, businesses want to reduce costs through energy efficiency and minimising waste.
Secondly, business owners pursue the marketing advantage of green credentials, particularly in sectors such as food production and landscaping.
Now, a third force has emerged, managing director of consultancy 2XE Nick Palousis says.
“There have been legislative changes where big companies need to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and how they’re reducing them,” Palousis says.
“Those big companies have long supply chains which consist of small companies.
“So those big companies are asking their supply chains for the information.
“And those smaller companies see that this as an opportunity to grow their business.”
Adelaide-based 2XE provides advice to companies nationally and delivers the Small Business Sustainability Program in collaboration with the Office for Small and Family Business.
More than 100 companies have taken part in the program.
Palousis will be part of a panel discussion during the Small Business Week in September.
He found attending the event last year was very valuable.
“I run a small business myself and it was really good to be among your peers,” he says.
“You face shared challenges but it’s also good to pick up on the positivity, to hear some really good stories.”
Palousis says SA business owners in SA are generally better informed on energy than those in other states. SA owners know that recent cost increases have been caused by ageing coal-fired power stations “bleeding the market” rather than by renewable generation. SA businesses want support to achieve sustainability and measure the gains.
“We’ve seen a big uptick in demand for our services,” he says.
“We’re engineers by background, so it’s what we love.
“Businesses want practical advice on what’s going to move the dial and leave their business better off.”
Register now for success
Registrations are now open for Small Business Week, to be held September 22 to 26 in Adelaide and regional South Australia.
“We’ll have sessions covering strategic planning, diversification, finance, cashflow and capital, digital technologies and AI, and succession planning,” Office for Small and Family Business director Kathryn Calaby says.
“It’s a perfect opportunity to set aside some time to work on your business, hear from experts and those who have faced challenges and thrived, or just simply to network and be inspired.
“But if you can’t make it to any of the in-person events, we will have a range of helpful online content available which you can consume anytime and anywhere.”
The week starts with a welcome event on Monday, September 22, where leading demographer and commentator Bernard Salt is the keynote speaker. He will be followed by a panel discussion with small business owners.
Small Business Week is one of the initiatives flowing from the state government’s Small Business Strategy 2023-30.
The strategy was shaped by extensive engagement with the sector, including a statewide online survey, roundtable discussions and in-depth interviews.
“There’s no doubt the world is rapidly changing,” Ms Calaby says. “New challenges and opportunities are con-stantly arising, and we have to be flexible in our ability to respond.”
Calaby says small businesses have been adopting to AI, including apps such as Chat-GPT and Copilot.
Most small business owners also want to hone their skills in financial literacy and business planning; and there continues to be pressures affecting their mental wellbeing, Calaby says.
Register your interest in Small Business Week and look out for the full program at business.sa.gov.au/week
Originally published as Small Business Week helping create South Australian success stories
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