A
month ago today Broome Shire President Graeme Campbell told the ABC that the Broome Community was
tired of the uncertainty regarding the proposed LNG plant at James Price Point,
and wanted to know what the decision would be, one way or another. Well, now we know.
Here
at the Small Business Centre West Kimberley, we are sure Mr Campbell will join
us in congratulating and thanking Woodside for announcing their decision at the
earliest possible opportunity. In doing
this, Woodside have given Broome businesses, small and large, certainty about
what the future holds, enabling them to plan for that future with clarity and
confidence.
And
we think ‘opportunity’ is the key word here!
Of course, we have given advice to a number of people who recognised
gaps in the market that would open up if the planned gas hub went ahead. We would venture to suggest that most of
those ideas still have strong potential, despite Woodside’s decision.
More
than that, we all know the old saying “When one door closes, another one opens”,
and there is the opportunity. The
opportunity for small business owners, new and existing, to be entrepreneurial,
to exercise their imagination, to think outside the box (in 3-D, of course, the
square is no longer enough!) and come up with the ideas that will drive
business and Broome into the future.
One
WA Government initiative that is there to help small businesses in regional areas
take advantage of opportunities is
the ‘Industry Support and Facilitation
Program’. It provides financial assistance of up to $20,000 to small and
medium sized enterprises supplying or seeking to supply goods or services to a
range of industries (including Government) that are very active in Broome and
the West Kimberley right now. There is a lot more information here, but feel
free to give Kevin Smith a call at the Small Business Centre in Broome on 9193
6622 for a preliminary chat.
Now,
get those thinking caps on!
