If you are a small business owner in Tasmania, then you will be glad to know that the south coast island has some of the fastest growing suburbs in Australia. In light of this, the government and local authorities are investing in urban planning to ensure communities in these regions have adequate amenities. It is made possible through meetings between town planners, the local council and the community. Understandably, most small business owners prefer to spend time tending to the day-to-day running of their businesses rather than participating in public meetings. However, it is vital also to understand that town planning is critical to the success of all business ventures. If you find it challenging to attend town planning meetings, then this article provides ways of ensuring that your input is considered without necessarily harming your business.
Send Staff
If you have one or two staff members, have one of them attend all meetings that are organised by the town planner. The staff member should be able to communicate your business' concerns as well as recommendations concerning urban planning. Additionally, the employee should be able to share the outcomes of the meeting with other staff members. Although you might be tempted to use different staff members for each meeting, you should refrain from doing that. Consistency is essential when delivering town planning information; therefore, you must dedicate the role to one staff member. Importantly, delegating allows you to stick with important day-to-day business operations.
Share Responsibility With Other Business Owners
Attending town planning meetings if you don't have a sufficient workforce can be challenging. In such a case, it is good to share the responsibility of attending town planning meetings among like-minded business owners that are facing similar issues. For instance, three business owners in the same segment can take turns attending town planning meetings and communicate the feedback to the others.
Invite the Town Planner
As mentioned earlier, business owners might lack time to attend every town planning meeting. Nonetheless, town planners appreciate getting first-hand feedback from business owners. Instead of attending every town planning meeting, a group of business owners can organise a lunch meeting with the town planner or invite the planner to a gathering as a guest speaker. The primary advantage of inviting the town planner is that the session will consist of like-minded individuals. Therefore, business owners get an opportunity to go into the details of town planning discussions without interference from representatives of other segments.