THREE Dubbo businesses won the opportunity to improve their business with a $10,000 grant and $3,000 business diagnostic review through the Your Dubbo campaign.
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Your Dubbo Business Development Grants totaling $30,000 were presented to Adventure Watersports, Burgun and Brennan Optometrists and Eastern Mechanical Services (EMS).
The winners were announced yesterday morning at a breakfast hosted by the Council and Dubbo Chamber of Commerce at the Lazy River Estate.
They were judged independently on customer insight, knowledge of their market environment and recognition of growth opportunities.
In its second year, 91 participants registered for the $176,000 Your Dubbo Program, which included guest speakers and seminars focused on increasing the quality of service and productivity within businesses.
The winners said they were surprised to win and expressed their gratitude to Dubbo City Council for establishing the initiative.
They all said the Your Dubbo speakers were very insightful and have all implemented the suggestions they provided.
"The training alone was just amazing; I really appreciate council introducing the initiative," Karla Stait of Adventure Watersports said.
"The speakers were outstanding, they spoke about a lot of the little things that can improve a business," Michael Brennan of Burgun and Brennan Optometrists said.
"It encouraged us to rethink how we respond to people and allowed us to put in that extra bit for customers."
Burgun and Brennan said they will use the money on a retail environment revamp.
"We're having a major refit to stop the online loss and provide a better experience for customers."
Arguable the most exciting proposed prize money usage came from Adventure Watersports, as they plan to utilise the Macquarie River.
"We want to introduce kayak tours along the Macquarie River, eventually overnight camping tours and stand-up paddle boards," Ms Stait said.
"I love Dubbo so much, I just want to increase visitation to such an amazing place."
EMS have recently increased their online presence now sell and deliver more than 1,000 of their products worldwide.
"We're committed to pushing forward into the online market and increasing our use of online media," Tom Caranagh of EMS said.
