Of course there are some shining examples of thriving #mainstreets throughout regional Australia (#highlight them for me if you will in the comments), however, many of the regional town I visit are really struggling. Why? As Ready Communities co-founder Chad Renando and I have discovered as we’ve spent time in our pilot community, Kempsey NSW […]
Reimagining the role of our main streets. Commerce or connection? Read More
No matter what anyone tells you there is only one sure fire way to build trust in any regional community and that’s to keep showing up. Every regional community has seen its fair share of Johnny-come-lately’s who appear from out of nowhere, point out the obvious accompanied with big ideas and then disappear just as
Crisis in a community is a tricky beast. While we may be told each crisis can be managed with the same set of instructions, they can’t. Unless that template is written to accommodate all place-based variables. What? Let’s take one experience I had during the 2019 bushfires. I was volunteering in a community I know
Why local knowledge is critical Read More
How to ensure your hand isn’t left dangling in the wind What does the humble handshake mean these days? Is it a punctuation mark to a well-executed business deal? A sign of mateship? Or just a simple courtesy? It could be any of the above but for people like my dad, by his own description
A silent yet powerful protest Read More
I’m not sure if it’s a genuine testament to my social conscious or if it’s just a solid commitment to keeping my life challenging – whatever the reason, whenever possible, and particularly when running events (because they aren’t stressful enough right) I insist upon using local suppliers, social enterprise or otherwise curious businesses for my