Leading Gladstone business owner’s stand together to support local.

I AM PROUD TO STAND NEXT TO THE HARDWORKING LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS ON THE COVER OF GLADSTONE NEWS THIS WEEK AND I FIRMLY BELIEVE IT’S TIME THAT WE SHARE THE POSITIVE IMPACT THEY INJECT INTO OUR COMMUNITY ON A DAILY BASIS AND HAVE DONE FOR YEARS. The people you see on the cover are hardworking local business owners; they are responsible for creating job opportunities, supporting the community with sporting clubs, charities and the future jobs for our children.

These Gladstone entrepreneurs deserve to be celebrated. They have been faced with a very difficult task over the past 5 years navigating an extremely turbulent climate in Gladstone and they say ‘It’s time to reflect on the town and what has happened over the past few years but we plan to push forward in a positive direction.’

What you may not know is these Gladstone business leaders stand together because they have decided that sticking together and supporting each other is the best way forward.

‘Support local’ is not just a saying or phrase it’s a necessity for our small businesses community. They catch up for local meetings on how they can help boost each other up, bounce ideas and plan to push forward and encourage one another to keep swimming through the unpredictable economy that has become a new reality in Gladstone.

For all who have come out the other side of the boom and bust cycle, if you are still open it is a huge feat and an accomplishment worth recognising. There is always a fear when you hear another business closing that it could happen to you. So while we don’t ignore the reality we also don’t subscribe to the doom and gloom.

This group wants to thank the long-term local community in Gladstone who is excellent at supporting local companies. Unlike most places in Australia, Gladstone has a huge heartbeat that has strengthened after going through the ups and downs. Gladstone News is partnering with these businesses to reach out to say thank you. Also urging all to please continue to stick with supporting local as it’s very important right now.

We hear lots about job losses and big industrial wind downs, cutbacks, redundancies but we don’t hear as much about our small local business community who have been battling up against a monster industry who sweep in and can pay more in rent and wages than the small local.

The faces we see here are resilient people that moved and stretched with the rental prices soaring, the wages soaring, long term locals leaving, new people arriving and new business climate that became global companies as competition overnight.

After all of that, taking stock of the whirlwind changes, this group are moving forward to find the ‘new normal’ and to continue to service the Gladstone Region. Continue to support local events, festivals, sports and community clubs.

The information we have published with profile pictures on the following pages showcase these local business owners. We do this with the hope that when given the choice and knowing who’s who, you can choose to support local business. It will empower you and enable you as community members to recognise which businesses you want to visit, support and buy from.

Congratulations to these Gladstone Business Leaders for working together as a team and boosting the positivity in our town.

-Karina

2ND LIFE TRADERS As a family owned business here at 2nd Life Traders we believe everyone deserves high-quality second hand goods at affordable prices. With our layby and delivery services we offer to the community makes it more accessible for all. By supporting our business ensures we can provide employment opportunities to our region. https://www.facebook.com/2ndLifeTraders/

BILL ROBERTSON TOYOTA Bill Robertson Toyota loves locals because we are locals too! When you support local businesses you are investing in our community. Your investment goes to employing local people, making purchases from other local businesses and donating to local charities. Let’s be united so that we all strengthen the Gladstone region. http://www.billrobertsontoyota.com.au/ https://www.facebook.com/BillRobertsonToyota/

ELEVATE Elevate is a forward thinking marketing & tech company who partners with local business to help them grow and succeed. We are locally owned, employ local people and we are proud to train and invest in our team’s skills. We don’t outsource interstate or offshore, we design and build websites here in Gladstone. Visit elevate.net.au. http://elevate.net.au/ https://www.facebook.com/elevate.net.au/

FANELLI DENTAL With Gladstone, proudly being home for over 30 years, we see our patients and staff not just a number, but part of our “Fanelli Dental family”. It has been wonderful to support and watch our families grow through the years to the point we are now treating the grandchildren! It's this community connection that gives us the passion for providing the best possible life-time dental care. http://www.cosmeticdentistgladstone.com.au/ https://www.facebook.com/fanellidental/

HAIRHOUSE WAREHOUSE We see buying local as a means to support ourselves. Money spent in other local businesses is utilised to purchase from more local businesses thus creating the domino effect that strengthens the town’s economy even in the downturn. http://www.hairhousewarehouse.com.au/ https://www.facebook.com/hairhousegladstone/

LITTLE BLOOM ROOM By supporting local business, not only does it keep my 4 employees in a job, but helps the community buzzing with smiles. Without your local patronage, admiring glances, we will only yield “FOR LEASE” signs and the cute little shops that add ambience and charm to our region will slowly vanish. http://www.littlebloomroom.com.au/ https://www.facebook.com/sarah.littlebloomroom/

OFFICE NATIONAL Office National Gladstone locally owned. Our profits stay in the community and support various groups and schools. When people shop online out of the region, it takes money out of the community. This means less employment and less money to support community activities. Not supporting local business will mean more businesses will close. Support local to prevent this. https://www.officenational.com.au/shop/en/aucklandst https://www.facebook.com/OfficeNationalGladstone/

PHOTOPIA Most of our activities involve promoting local businesses and their products through our photographic services, and I love the loyalty our local customers have towards Photopia. In return, I try as much as possible to use Gladstone small businesses as our suppliers. It wouldn’t make sense to do otherwise. http://www.photopia-studio.com/ https://www.facebook.com/williamdeboisphotographer/

QH20 Being a small local business, we always try to shop with other small businesses in Gladstone. When shopping locally you know your money is helping employ locals and there’s a good chance you’ll get better service and advice. http://www.qh2o.com.au/ https://www.facebook.com/QH2OGladstoneBundaberg/

REGENCY BLINDS Supporting locally owned businesses ensures we have a unique and diverse range of products along with personal service and advice within our community. Being greeted and assisted by the business owner and their team means you can make a personal connection to the business ensuring your experience meets your specific needs. http://www.regencyblinds.com.au/ https://www.facebook.com/regencyblindsgladstone/

SALOON PROTEIN AND TEA BAR At Saloon-Protein and Tea Bar we love the sense of community this town has, supporting community events and hiring local people is our secret to success. As businesses we should be supporting each other and helping each other grow, competition keeps us all accountable and thrives to be better! https://www.wranglernutrition.com.au/ https://www.facebook.com/Saloonproteinandteabar/

SASSI We are all feeling the pinch of the current local market, but if we all support each other we will get through it. We need all of us to keep spending whatever we can afford to, to keep the flow going or we will lose more local businesses, more jobs and unfortunately businesses will not be able to support the local charities, sporting clubs and events. http://sassiaustralia.com/ https://www.facebook.com/sassiaustralia/

SOLARPOWER GLADSTONE I’m the new owner from Solarpower Gladstone. As you have seen from the fiasco this week, you cannot trust your politicians to guarantee your future energy needs. They are running around like headless chooks! Support local and secure your future energy with Solarpower Gladstone. https://www.gladstonesolarpower.com.au/ https://www.facebook.com/solarpowergladstone/

SPORTSPOWER GLADSTONE We are part of your community. Shopping local ensures a strong sustainable local economy and sense of community where business owners like us appreciate your support and give back by supporting your local sporting clubs, schools, community events by sponsorship and donations. With your support we are able to employ a team of 12 staff that we regard as part of our family. https://www.sportspower.com.au/ https://www.facebook.com/GladstoneSportsPower/

SUBWAY GLADSTONE Subway has been part of the Gladstone community for almost 20 years. We value your support, and look forward to contributing back to local schools, sporting groups and charities well into the future. Keep it local, and everyone wins! https://www.subway.com.au/ https://www.facebook.com/sub4680/

YARALLA SPORTS CLUB Yaralla Sports Club is ‘Community Owned’ and ‘Not for Profit’. Every time you show your support all profits go directly to investing and maintaining community facilities. We are proud to employ 110 locals and are the largest contributor to the promotion and development of sport in the Gladstone Region. http://staging.yaralla.com.au/ https://www.facebook.com/yaralla/