A Sydney-based entrepreneur has launched a Small Business Ideas Exchange Centre in a bid to help other Sydney small business owners share information, host and attend events, and network.<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Small Business Idea Exchange Centre is the brainchild of Belinda Stinson, founder of jewellery business Creatively Belle.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stinson is also the founder of women\u2019s magazine She Inspires<\/i>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n According to Stinson, there is a real desire and need for a small business centre offering information, education, events and networking opportunities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAs a small business owner, I think that it can be quite challenging making things happen. In terms of pricing, pricing can put me out of reach of things very quickly,\u201d she told StartupSmart<\/i>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been very fortunate to work with good government agencies and have a corporate background.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBig organisations get preferred rates and discounted rates, and I want to change that up and challenge it.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stinson spoke to the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, which manages The Rocks Pop-Up initiative in partnership with Arts NSW, after stumbling upon one of the venues it was using.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt is 150 square metres\u2026 With that size, I could host multiple events,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stinson decided to request permission to use the space on an ongoing basis.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt all moved very quickly\u2026 I only had really a week\u2019s wait for it to go to the board and be reviewed,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The venue is being set up for workshops for 20 attendees, networking events for up to 100 attendees and seminars for up to 60 attendees.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Those who will benefit most include service business owners, creative business owners, retailers, cottage industry creators, consultants, designers and artisans, mumpreneurs and emerging artists.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stinson is quick to point out the venue is open to men and women.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI want people to make really good connections and have the opportunity to grow their business in ways that suit them, whether that\u2019s through education, connections or having that \u2018aha!\u2019 moment,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cFor a lot of small business owners, the majority work in quite an isolated space. Having a space where we can connect with others and is very accessible [is valuable].\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n While male business owners are more than welcome to use the venue, female entrepreneurs with families are a key component, according to Stinson, who has set up an area for children.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201c[One woman] has a family with children, so the idea is whoever comes in\u2026 can come with their family,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe have a business coach involved and a lot of her clients are young mums that are starting up their business, so we need to make it easy for the kids to come in.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201c[However], we need to find the right balance when there are events running.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Small Business Idea Exchange Centre is located at 13 Cambridge Street in Sydney\u2019s city centre and is open on weekdays from 10am to 3pm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Sydney-based entrepreneur has launched a Small Business Ideas Exchange Centre in a bid to help other Sydney small business<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59546,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43907"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43907\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}