2016-04-19 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                 19 APRIL 2016


2.   The Program
The Program caters to Sunshine Coast based small and medium businesses with a focus on
Noosa, that are affiliated with a Chamber of Commerce and have an Australian Business or
Company Number.

The Program assists to:
   address new opportunities;
   resolve business issues; and
   attention skills challenges.

The Program is supported by 24 Mentors, 5 of which are currently inactive due to other
commitments. Close to 200 businesses have gone through the Program with an additional 54
businesses currently being mentored.

Mentors are matched to mentee applicants and an introductory meeting is held. A mentoring
framework is established according to the individual businesses needs, where goals are
established specific to the needs of the business, available options are explored to go forward,
and an action plan agreed. The program will typically involve a fortnightly mentoring session of
approximately 90 minutes for the first 2-3 months.

Mentors meet as a group fortnightly to discuss the progress of mentees, attention general
business and review compliance with operating processes. The Program also includes training
and education for Mentors.

To gauge satisfaction levels and the success of the program, written and face to face surveys are
undertaken with participants.

3.   The Benefits
Mentoring is considered a key tool to facilitate business growth and development. It enables
business owners to step out of the day to day running of a business and objectively look at all
elements of the business via a mentoring process which:
   provides a space to brainstorm ideas and plan for the future;
   offers an independent, sounding board via an impartial source with no vested interest; and
   provides a catalyst to inject new energy into the business and take it to the next level.

4.   Funding
The Program was established using a $55,000 grant from the Sunshine Coast Council in 2012.
The grant provided for the purchase of a customer request management system and assistance
with operational expenses including administration support, insurance, promotion and website
development.

The cost to individual businesses to participate is $150.     In 2016 the program expects to
generate an income of $4,800 in new mentee fees.

Annual costs include:

Administration assistance                          $3,600
IT support                                         $2,500
Meeting room costs (Girraween Sports Complex)      $1,100
Liability insurance                                $ 800
Education & Training – Mentors                     $5,000
Mentee Forums                                      $4,000

The Program has a current bank balance of approximately $13,000.

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