The Textile, Clothing and Footwear (TCF) Business Growth Project based in Western Australia will be running the following workshops in both Wollongong and Nowra. Topics include:

- Growing Your Fashion Business – Working in or on your business, developing a checklist.

- Pricing and Costing – have you priced your products correctly?

- Debt Collection and Credit Management – Collecting debts, providing credit to retailers, getting the cash back into your business.

- TCF Global – Sourcing off-shore manufactures – TCF Global Sourcing raw materials and manufactures, Hong Long, China, Bali, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Fiji. Information on TECFWA Buying Missions to Hong Kong Fashion Week July 2009.

- TCF NSW and Design edge Online Shops and Networking Groups

The TCF Industry includes the design and manufacture process and would be relevant to the following industry sectors:

- Bridal Wear, Baby Wear, Boy’s Wear, Blinds, Awnings, Beading, Automotive
- Children’s Wear, Caps, Curtains, Carpets, Corporate Wear, Canvas Active Wear.
- Designer Fashion, Designers, Collars, Cushions, Belts Books, Banners
- Footwear, Equestrian, Furnishings, Evening Wear, Embroidery, Cloth Rags
- Intimate Apparel, Interior Textiles, Health, Grading, Girl’s wear, Dance Ware.
- Leather, Luggage, Handbags, Felts, Knitwear, Home wares, Hats, Flags
- Millinery, Maternity, Lifejackets, Lace, Industrial Textiles, Insulation
- Menswear, Manufacturers CMT, Marine, Mattresses, Paper Machine Clothing.
- Rugs, Ropes, pet accessories, Pattern making, Tanneries, Non Woven Textiles.
- Sporting Wear, Socks, Skins, Seat Belts, School Wear, Ski Wear, Saddlery
- Swimwear, Surfwear, Soft Toys, Safety, Sails, Sandals, Tablecloths, Sleepwear.
- Textiles, Fibres, Towels, Tens, Sport wear, Tourist Souvenirs, Textile Artists
- Women’s Wear, Wallets, Wool, Wetsuits, Work wear, Uniforms, Underwear, Yarns.

Marketing Workshop    

It is not enough to just have a fantastic product or service, you also need to be able to understand how to market your product or service to potential customers and clients. 

This two and a half hour workshop will help you understand the different aspects of marketing, help you understand how your product / service fits into the whole market and how you can market your business more effectively. We will discuss:

• Conducting Market Research
• Who is Your Target Market / Competitors
• The Four Ps of Marketing
• SWOT Analysis
• Requirements of Developing a Marketing Plan

Time:   9.30am to 12noon  
Date:   Thursday 19 February 2009 
Cost:   $40.00 – light refreshments included

Are you charging the right price to make a profit in your business?     

Price is one of the things that can cause the most grief in business. Is my price too high, too low, should I offer discounts?

In this workshop you will :

• Identify what profit is
• Know the elements of a Cost Structure
• Understand pricing
• Learn how to determine the breakeven point
• Examine how profit differs from cash flow
• Apply the concepts to a case study

Time:  9.30am noon to 12 noon
Date:  Thursday 26 February 2009   
Cost:  $40.00 – light refreshments included

Illawarra Women in Business 

Applications are now open for the Illawarra Women in Business Businesswomen’s Awards and are designed to put the stars of the female Illawarra business community in the spotlight.

Illawarra Women in Business (IWIB) a local networking group, is proud of the achievements of women in the local business community and wants to recognize successful women in business through their IWIB award for the IWIB Illawarra Business Woman of the Year and the IWIB Illawarra Young Business Woman of the Year.

The IWIB Illawarra Business Woman of the Year for 2009 (proudly sponsored by the Illawarra Business chamber) and The IWIB Illawarra Young Business Woman of the Year for 2009 (proudly sponsored by the Illawarra ITeC) will be held on Friday, 27 March 2009 at the Lagoon Seafood Restaurant North Wollongong.

The awards are open to ALL business women who are operating or work as an employee in a business located in the Illawarra that best demonstrates ambition, energy, skill and vision, as well as tangible business success.   The awards are open to women who are enjoying success in building their own business and to those employees that have had an outstanding impact in contributing to the successes of a larger organisation.

The APPLICATION FORM (available at www.iwib.com.au) needs to be completed as per the instructions and returned to IWIB before close of business on Monday 2 March 2009.

Now is the time to reflect on your business achievements and to seriously think about entering the IWIB Awards.

Free Business Advisory Services

The Illawarra ITeC has five Small Business Programs to help you get started and further develop your established business. All programs provide free and confidential business advice and are available free of charge in the Illawarra, Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven areas: 

• Illawarra Business Advisory Service (IBAS)
• Business Enterprise Centre (BEC)
• New Enterprise Development Scheme  (NEIS)
• Illawarra Innovation Advisory Service (IIAS)
• Aboriginal Enterprise Development Officer (ADEO) Program

Do you receive our weekly Illawarra ITeC Small Business News Newsletter?   If not, email Virginia today on ibec@illawarraitec.com.au and we will automatically send you a copy.  

This is only a brief outline of the types of small business advice and assistance that we can offer.  Want to know more?  Remember I am a FREE service and can assist you in developing your business in many ways.

Call me today on 4223 3100 or check out our website at www.illawarraitec.com.au