Representatives from Google Australia will visit the Sunshine Coast on Thursday 12 April to hold a free training seminar for local business leaders. The ‘Digital Garage’ event came about as a result of a collaboration between Federal MP Andrew Wallace, the Caloundra Chamber of Commerce and Google Australia.
Mr Wallace said that he had been working hard since last year to seek out Google’s representatives and to collaborate with the local small business community to bring them to the Coast.
He said “A strong online presence is becoming an ever more important part of building a successful business. I want to see all of our small and medium sized businesses on the Sunshine Coast excelling in this arena. That’s why I wanted our hard working business owners to have the opportunity to learn from the true global experts, and there’s no-one who knows more about how to build a presence online than Google themselves. This is a great example of how government, small business and global corporations can work together to build prosperity in the community.”
The seminar will teach local business owners about the free methods available to help their businesses to be found online, including the most effective way to use popular tools like Google Maps and Search. The session will also address how consumers’ use of mobile telephones is providing new challenges and opportunities for SMEs and what local companies can do to respond to these changes.
Google’s Head of Business Marketing, Richard Flanagan said: “We believe everyone should have the opportunity to learn the skills necessary to succeed online, that’s why we launched the Digital Garage: a free online training platform designed to help small business make the most of the web and why we’re delivering in-person digital skills training right across Australia”.
The free training seminar will take place at the Events Centre at Caloundra from 8am, and places are strictly limited. Individuals can register by visiting https://events.withgoogle.com/dg-on-the-sunshine-coast/
President of the Caloundra Chamber of Commerce, Michael Shadforth, said that all local business should take advantage of this incredible professional development opportunity that has been brought to Caloundra.
“Events like this are not held everywhere, so it is really important for businesses in our region to engage with the leaders in this sector and learn everything they can from them.” Michael said.
“I’d encourage everyone to take advantage of this opportunity and to learn from the informative and insightful presentation that Google can provide as their understanding of trends and people is second to none.”
“Everyone in any type of business, be that new-economy, traditional or e-commerce can benefit from the insights that organisations like these can provide.”
Mr Wallace said “For many Australians Google is their first point of access to the internet. This seminar is a rare opportunity for local businesses to learn from such an important global corporation, and to have their questions answered. I would strongly encourage all business owners and managers on the Coast to register today and avoid missing out.”