How to start a home-based business

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Are you thinking about starting a home-based business or are you already in business and need to know more?

Logan Office of Economic Development is hosting a series of workshops across Logan, explaining the fundamentals of starting a new home-based business.

Our dedicated team of Small Business Advisers will explain the fundamentals of starting a new business. You will work through a Business Start-Up Checklist, identify where you are up to and discover what else you need to do before successfully starting your new venture. You can then develop your action plan to make it all happen.

You will learn:

  • The fundamentals of starting a new business
  • What you need to work on to successfully get your business started

At the completion of the session you will leave with:

  • A Business Start-Up Checklist
  • Ongoing support from your local Small Business Adviser
  • An action plan to start your business

A one-to-one follow up meeting is available to assist you further and embed the ideas/principles of the session.

View the list of locations and dates by visiting loed.eventbrite.com.au. Free to attend, registration is essential.

Date and Time Location
Tuesday 28 September 2021
7.30am – 9.30am		 Brookhaven Sales Centre
33 Menora Road Bahrs Scrub 4207
Thursday 21 October 2021
9.30am – 11.30am		 Flagstone Community Centre
19 Trailblazer Drive, Flagstone
Tuesday 23 November 2021
10am – 12pm		 Logan Central Library
26 Wilbur Street, Logan Central QLD 4114
Tuesday 7 December 2021
2pm – 4pm		 Jimboomba Library
18 – 22 Honora Street, Jimboomba QLD 4280
Tuesday 25 January 2022
10am – 12pm		 Gould Adams Community Centre / Hyperdome Library
66 – 70 Mandew Street, Shailer Park QLD 4128
Tuesday 15 February 2022
10am – 12pm		 Logan West Library
69 Grand Plaza Drive, Browns Plains QLD 4118
Wednesday 16 March 2022
9.30am – 11.30am		 Springwood Community Centre
Cnr Cinderella Dr and Vanessa Blvd, Springwood
Tuesday 19 April 2022
9.30am – 11.30am		 Beenleigh Entertainment Centre
Cnr of Crete and Kent Streets, Beenleigh
Tuesday 17 May 2022
9.30am – 11.30am		 Chambers Flat Community Centre
49-65 Kenny Road, Chambers Flat
Wednesday 15 June 2022
9.30am – 11.30am		 Crestmead Community Centre
Gimlet St, Crestmead

Workshops delivered in partnership with Homebase and NBN.

New strategy inspires jobs and investment

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Attracting new investment, supporting local businesses and boosting youth employment are among the key pillars of Logan City Council’s new five-year Economic Development Strategy.

Council today endorsed the strategy which is driven by a vision that ‘Logan’s economy is everyone’s business, with Council leading the way’.

The Economic Development Strategy 2022-2027, accompanied by a five-year Implementation Strategy, was developed after extensive community and stakeholder consultation and feedback.

The development of the Strategy included an independent economic analysis report and eight economic opportunity roundtable events with stakeholders and local business owners.

A prevailing theme across all consultation activities was the high level of business and community confidence in the City of Logan’s economic future, despite the setbacks of the last year due to pandemic lockdown and restrictions.

There was also a strong desire among local businesses to support City of Logan residents through education, training, employment and entrepreneurial opportunities.

The new strategy will see Council’s economic support directed into major areas including:

  • Growth from within by supporting the evolution of existing businesses and industries
  • A focus on job quality, training and career pathways for youth and job seekers
  • Leveraging the city’s location and strengths to attract national and international businesses
  • Tapping into emerging industries
  • Further development of the local day and night-time economies to nurture hospitality, creative and entertainment options

Mayor Darren Power has taken a hands-on approach to boosting the local economy with the formation of the Mayor’s Local Job and Skills Taskforce, which will engage with local businesses to create employment opportunities.

He said Council would also be strongly promoting and supporting Council’s ‘Buy Logan’ procurement policy, which has a target of channelling 45 per cent of Council’s annual products and services spend towards local providers.

“Every business in Logan matters and Council will continue to work with them all to help consolidate their existing core operations while also building for future growth, resilience and success,” Cr Power said.

Economic Development Chair, Deputy Mayor Jon Raven said Council will continue to build on recent success in attracting new investment to the city as well as tapping into new and emerging industries.

“The City of Logan is already a destination of choice for national and international businesses looking to expand or relocate,” Cr Raven said.

“This Strategy will ensure we continue to be a leader in driving economic growth and creating local jobs.”

The Strategy also includes programs to boost employment and education opportunities for local youth. These include:

  • Collaborating with schools and education providers
  • Expanding the popular Catapult youth entrepreneurial and enterprise skills program
  • Developing programs that help align businesses and skills with local jobseekers

“Young people make up 30 percent of our population but are 100 per cent of our future,” Cr Raven said.

“We want Logan’s youth to actively participate in the growth of our city – economically, socially and culturally.”

A publicly available version of the Economic Development Strategy will be made available by the end of the year.

Fund to attract new business

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A Logan City Council initiative to attract business and create employment has been tailored to target emerging sectors such as clean technology, health and medical providers and tourism.

The highly successful Investment Attraction Incentive Fund (IAIF) was this year allocated $3 million over the next three years to attract investment from business operations and projects that provide significant economic benefit and job creation for the City of Logan.

Economic Development Chair, Deputy Mayor Jon Raven, said amendments to the scheme, to be adopted at a future Council meeting, would enable Council to diversify the types of industry looking to set up business in the city.

“As our city continues to grow, we had to think about the kind of industries we could attract that would also provide employment opportunities for locals,” Councillor Raven said.

“This creates real opportunities for the next generation, kids who attend school here, can go to university here or get a trade and then start a career somewhere close to home.

“By targeting emerging industries, we know there will be demand for these products and services well into the future.

“This provides some certainty around long-term economic outcomes for the city and has a ripple effect by attracting further investment.”

Industrial biotechnology, education and health, transport and logistics and the creative arts are industries on the radar.

Council will also introduce a high priority investment list which targets assets that are either non-existent, under-represented or highly sought after by the business or residential communities.

This could include a hotel, short-term accommodation, tourism attraction, or boutique food outlets.

Since its inception in 2018, the initiative has attracted 15 businesses and is estimated to generate more than 940 new and retained jobs and inject around $120 million into the local economy once all projects have been completed.

LSKD CEO Jason Daniel at the site of his new headquarters building in Loganholme

LSKD have recently invested in Logan with a new HQ and warehouse underway in Loganholme

Successful recipients include street sportswear brand LSKD; DHL Supply Chain; V Resource; Help Enterprises; Go1; The Plumbing Industry Climate Action Centre; ATP Science; Border Express; and BlockTexx.

BlockTexx founders Graham Ross and Adrian Jones recently relocated their textile recycling business from Sydney to a 2220 sqm operation at Loganholme.

The clean technology company recovers polyester and cellulose from textiles and clothing and will inject around $43 million into the local economy.

It will provide 30 jobs in the short-term and recycle 4,000 tonnes of textiles using the company’s proprietary Separation of Fibre Technology (S.O.F.T.) solution.

Mr Ross said large manufacturers, government bodies, corporations and charities are all looking for opportunities to reuse and repurpose unwanted fabrics – such as uniforms, hotel sheets and unsold stock.

Deputy Mayor Jon Raven with BlockTexx co-founder Graham Ross and samples of recycled fabric

Deputy Mayor Jon Raven with BlockTexx co-founder Graham Ross and samples of recycled fabric“We spoke to a lot of Councils from around the county and we decided on Logan. The council has been highly supportive of our relocation from Sydney,” he said.

“Logan ticks all the right boxes and we are excited to build Australia’s first commercial scale textile recovery facility at our new location in Loganholme.”

Visit our incentives page for more information on the Investment Attraction Incentive Fund and other incentives to invest in the City of Logan

Logan is the drone delivery capital of the world

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Wing has announced the City of Logan as the drone delivery capital of the world. From Wing’s early days delivering to a small group of customers in two suburbs in 2019, the drone delivery company is now making thousands of deliveries each week to 19 suburbs, with a combined population of more than 110,000 people.

Jesse Suskin, Wing spokesperson and Head of Policy and Community Affairs, says that the company has completed more deliveries globally in the second quarter of 2021 than in the entire year of 2020. “Wing saw a 500% increase in deliveries worldwide in 2020 over 2019, and we’ve continued to grow at a similar rate in 2021.”

“We’ve seen a significant increase in use of our on-demand drone delivery service in South East Queensland this year. Wing has already made more than 50,000 deliveries to the Logan community in 2021, with almost 4,500 deliveries in a single week, during the most recent Queensland COVID-19 lockdown in early August.”

“We heard from a number of customers that they found on-demand drone delivery especially useful as they stayed home, and relied on our contactless service to deliver the things they needed.”

In the past year, Wing customers in Logan have:

  • ordered more than 10,000 cups of fresh barista-made coffee;
  • had more than 1,000 loaves of bread delivered to their home, saving a trip to the shops;
  • kept break time interesting as kids transitioned to remote-learning with more than 1,700 snack packs ordered for morning and afternoon tea;
  • tucked into more than 2,700 sushi rolls to beat the lunchtime cravings; and
  • made more than 1,200 hot chooks fly, just in time for family dinner.

With celebrations and major events in Queensland being impacted by COVID-19 this year, Wing was there to ensure Logan residents didn’t miss out on the joy.

“In April this year, as residents were asked to stay at home in the lead up to Easter, we delivered more than 250 chocolate eggs, bunnies, and hot cross bun packs to customers in Logan. Earlier this month, as the Ekka was cancelled, we delivered more than 500 showbags, dagwood dogs, fairy floss, and strawberry ice creams to give customers a little taste of Queensland’s
favourite show from home.”

Improvements to the delivery service in 2021 include new, quieter aircraft to address residents’ concerns over noise, and the addition of delivery services to non-residential addresses to supply workplace essentials along with popular items like coffee and snacks.

Jesse Suskin says the next 12 months are exciting for the company. “As Wing expands over the next year, we’ll continue to improve our service’s ability to meet the needs of the communities we serve and the local businesses we support. While local businesses currently co-locate with us at our delivery facility, in the coming months we’ll be exploring new delivery models, including co-locating our on-demand drone delivery service with businesses at their premises.”

“For over two years, we’ve worked closely with the Logan City Council, small businesses and the larger community to offer a first in the world drone delivery service. We’re thrilled that the Logan businesses we deliver for, and the many thousands of Logan residents who are customers have found the service convenient and valuable. We look forward to continuing our investment in the City of Logan, expanding our service, and working closely with the Logan City Council and community to continue making last mile delivery, safe, fast and environmentally friendly.”

Jesse Suskin from Wing with drone in the sky overhead

Jesse Suskin, Wing spokesperson and Head of Policy and Community Affairs

Wing currently delivers to parts of the following suburbs in Logan:

  1. Beenleigh
  2. Berrinba
  3. Bethania
  4. Browns Plains
  5. Crestmead
  6. Edens Landing
  7. Heritage Park
  8. Holmview
  9. Kingston
  10. Logan Central
  11. Loganlea
  12. Marsden
  13. Park Ridge
  14. Regents Park
  15. Slacks Creek
  16. Underwood
  17. Waterford
  18. Waterford West
  19. Woodridge

Related stories:

Wing Blog: Logan, Australia: The Drone Delivery Capital of the World

Google drones deliver 1,200 hot chickens in Queensland – Australian Aviation

Keep your doors open after a disaster

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Most disasters are unexpected, and many can have severe impacts on your business’s ability to continue to operate. To ensure your business stays open after a disaster, you’ll need to prepare. That way you can be sure you’re doing everything you can to protect yourself, your staff, your customers and your business.

Here are some key things you can do to ensure your business is prepared for any disaster that might come your way:

  • Check your insurance policy will adequately cover your business in the event of a disaster.
  • Have enough stock and equipment on hand to supply your customers if distribution networks are disrupted.
  • Have an emergency contact list including numbers for staff and local emergency services.
  • Prepare your staff by making and practicing an action plan of what you can do before, during and after a disaster.
  • Create a business continuity plan: logan.qld.gov.au/ disasters-and-emergencies/ prepare-business.
  • Get free business advice from the Logan Office of Economic Development: loed@logan.qld.gov.au.
  • Establish like-for-like help arrangements with local businesses you find through groups like the Think Local, Buy Logan Facebook group.
  • Protect your critical information by packing key financial, legal and ID documents in a portable waterproof container and backing up your data.

For more information on how to prepare your business, visit logan.qld.gov.au/prepareyourbusiness.

Australia’s New Entertainment Hub Announces Weekend Markets

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Press release provided by Distillery Road Market

Distillery Road Market (DRM) is a compelling destination designed to celebrate our region’s love of fresh produce, dining and entertainment and is now calling for stallholder expression of interests.

Despite COVID setbacks, plans for Australia’s new entertainment hub in Eagleby is booming through phase 1 of its development, this week announcing expressions of interest for stall holders have now opened for their weekend markets, set to start from mid-2021.

The brainchild of Kenton Campbell, Founder of Zarraffa’s Coffee and CEO of Tonken Property Group, which is the project developer for DRM, the vision was to deliver people more of what they want: a localised food-centric experience.

“DRM is for all stallholders and marketers,” enthused Mr Campbell. “From the heirloom gardener, florist, farmer-grown produce, street food vendors, dessert purveyors, artisans and crafters, we want to offer a huge variety of goods and produce in one vibrant location.”

Situated halfway between the Gold Coast and Brisbane, the DRM weekend markets will encompass Friday and Saturday nights, and Saturday and Sundays with a range of activations to suit all people, inspired by some of the world’s greatest markets.

“Influenced by the likes of Chelsea Market in New York, Borough Market in London we are about attracting the region’s best growers and markers, filling intimate spaces with unique products, fresh produce and great food.

“We’re excited to now be able to start accepting vendors’ expressions of interest for our weekend markets via our website and we want you to be a part of it.”

With four market events across the weekend, there are a number of opportunities to become part of the DRM stallholder community.

From 4pm – 8pm, Friday and Saturday Nights, DRM will host Trucks and Tunes where visitors can ‘gather their gang’ and go on a street food journey.

“Nights are for devouring delicious food made onsite by our line-up of food trucks and stalls, while also enjoying a revolving roster of local music acts with the whole family,” enthused Kenton.

Saturday mornings will deliver a trove of local artisans, makers, and creators with the Winter Bazaar markets from 8am – 2pm.

“Designed for people to meander and enjoy a sensory experience, the Saturday Winter Bazaar markets will showcase live local music and a curation of handcrafted goods, arts, crafts, great coffee and fresh food.”

While Sunday mornings will play host to the region’s finest Growers Market from 6am – 11am.

“We want friends and family to fill their market basket with the freshest local produce – fine foods, meats, cheeses, baked goods and fresh flowers, or mosey on down for a laid back outdoor Sunday breakfast with great coffee, of course.”

DRM already plays home to Australian-owned Zarraffa’s Coffee, its roastery, headquarters and the bespoke Kiwanda Café – a factory concept cafe by Zarraffa’s.

With seating for up to 150 people, the DRM markets will be held weekly on the southern carpark site, offering locals drawn from Brisbane to the Gold Coast an experience closer to home, while welcoming visitors from all over to Australia’s newest food precinct and emerging entertainment hub.

With the success of the launch of Sugar Creek Smokehouse last year – a smokin’ hot Aus-Tex smokehouse drawing inspiration from the authentic Texan barbeque method you know and love – it’s proof that the concept for the markets will be welcomed.

“The community adoption of Sugar Creek Smokehouse and our food offerings has been incredible – it’s clear that people want more,” said James Osler, Venue Manager and Chef at Sugar Creek Smokehouse.

And more is exactly what Kenton Campbell and his team plan to deliver, all while taking guests on a mouth-watering journey, offering truly exceptional fresh food will excite and attract people from near and far.”

“This is just the beginning and there’s much more to come in 2022, as we open the entertainment precinct, more eateries and a brewery,” said Kenton.

DRM will be ever-changing, creating a distinct food and entertainment-centric hub for Logan and the southeast, believing DRM will be the ideal environment to capture the shift from the mass consumption of products to the mass consumption of experiences.

Trading across four days per week, from Thursday through to Sunday, DRM will transcend what is on offer in traditional retail precincts and transform people’s expectations of what is possible from a lifestyle destination.

Established in a re-purposed, reignited space, DRM has started and will continue to grow a happening, playful, and dynamic experience that puts people at the heart of their own food journey; helping them to connect in a constantly changing and immersive environment.

With over 600 car parks available at the precinct, DRM is located advantageously along the Gold Coast/ Brisbane growth corridor in the rapidly growing Logan City and is both visible and easily accessible from the M1 Motorway.

Details on how to become a market stall holder can be found at – www.drm.market

Drone delivery service Wing expands to more suburbs

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Global drone delivery service Wing saw dramatic growth in the City of Logan during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing their deliveries by 500 per cent in 2020 from the previous year. With Logan residents at home last year, demand for air delivery soared with people relying on the service to deliver items they needed.

In 2021, use of the drone delivery service in Logan has continued to grow; with more than 18,000 deliveries to the community. More than 1,000 deliveries took place in just a few days during the most recent Queensland COVID-19 lockdown period, prior to the Easter long weekend, according to Jesse Suskin, Head of Policy and Community Affairs at Wing.

“Many people in Logan have contacted us asking for service, and in response to that feedback, we’ve recently expanded beyond our initial service suburbs of Crestmead, Marsden, and Berrinba. Wing is now available in more than a dozen suburbs in Logan, including drone delivery to customers in parts of Loganlea, Waterford West, Slacks Creek, Logan Central, Woodridge, Kingston, Park Ridge, Browns Plains, Heritage Park, and Regents Park. In the coming weeks we’ll also be expanding even further to include service for customers in Edens Landing, Bethania, Holmview, Waterford, and Beenleigh.”

As Wing expands, they will be improving their service offering, delivery range, and making changes to their aircraft in response to community feedback. Such changes have already taken place, with Jesse announcing new, quieter aircraft to be introduced to Logan’s skies in the coming weeks.

“Having made thousands of deliveries to customers in Logan over the last 18 months, we’ve also heard community feedback regarding noise and overflight of our drone in the neighbourhood, and we are committed to making improvements in response to their feedback. Today, we’re excited to be announcing the roll out of our new aircraft in the Logan community, a quieter drone model that almost halves the sound level experienced during overflight. We’ll be introducing the quieter drone model into service gradually in the coming weeks.”

Photo of Wing's new drone

Photo of Wing’s new drone

Wing established in Logan in 2019 as the first location in Queensland, and one of the first locations in the world to offer an air delivery service. Wing has invested in multiple sites across Logan and works with local retailers to deliver items such as cooked chickens, coffee, sushi and hardware.

To learn more about Wing, visit their website

Launchpad a win for small business in City of Logan

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If you are looking to turn your small business idea into reality, the new Business Launchpad is here to help in the Logan City Council area.

The Queensland Government’s Business Launchpad takes the guesswork out of setting up your business by consolidating the licences, permits and other important regulatory information you’ll need to open your doors and start trading.

This new digital tool is available to people looking to set up and run a new food and beverage or residential construction small business in the Logan City Council area.

With the Business Launchpad you can save time and effort by easily identifying and applying for licences from all levels of government. You can:

  • create personalised guides with curated content specific to your business type, location and services
  • sign in to save progress and access your account from any device
  • pre-fill, complete, sign and submit some licensing forms online.

The Business Launchpad is being funded through the Australian Government’s Small Business Regulatory Reform Agenda

Get started at www.business.qld.gov.au/launchpad.

View the Queensland Government media release.

Sky’s the limit for City of Logan entrepreneurs

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What do holographic surgery, rocket motors and drones have in common?

They are the first industries set to be nurtured for global success through a new incubator that officially opened in City of Logan today.

Minister Stirling Hinchcliffe and Mayor Darren Power

Mayor Darren Power launched the coLab Growth Hub with Queensland Minister for Tourism Industry Development and Innovation, the Hon Stirling Hinchliffe.

“Logan City Council has developed the coLab Growth Hub in collaboration with global edu-tech company Go1 as a place where fast-scaling ventures can grow in a supported and globally-connected environment,” Cr Power said.

“These ventures will boost our region’s economy and establish the city as a world-leader in supporting fast-growing and innovative entrepreneurs.

“It only takes a spark of creativity and entrepreneurship to set the world on fire – and the City of Logan wants to become an innovative hotbed.”

Cr Power said highly qualified and certified entrepreneurs-in-residence would mentor business owners and their employees, with tailored development programs and fully serviced office spaces also on offer.

“The firms that will grow from the coLab already have significant capital investment and mature business models, as well as a demonstrated potential for growth and maturity,” he said.

“I’m so excited to see Black Sky Aerospace, akunah and National Drones signing on as the first Portfolio Companies at the coLab.

“These entrepreneurs have already shown they can take their ideas to the world from the City of Logan.

“We want our economy to be resilient to economic disruptions and able to deliver long-term growth, and innovation is the key to that transformation.”

Minister Hinchliffe said the Logan initiative would help to create great opportunities for local entrepreneurs.

“The Palaszczuk Government’s Advance Queensland Program proudly backed the growth of Go1 from local start-up to a global edu-tech,” Mr Hinchliffe said.

“It’s fantastic to see Go1 now sharing experience and worldwide connections with Logan entrepreneurs.

“We know innovation is critical to creating jobs and ensuring Queensland is the place to be to invest and thrive.

“Every product we use today started as an idea that was refined and developed into a job creating industry.

“Several Queensland innovators are already filling multi-million-dollar overseas orders and supporting new jobs at home.

“That’s what makes incubators like the coLab Growth Hub so important for nurturing local innovators to grow ideas into the Queensland industries of the future.”

Entrepreneur-in-residence and Go1 co-founder, Vu Tran, said the organisation was thrilled to be playing a pivotal role in establishing the coLab.

“Go1 was born and bred here, and we’re looking forward to doing our bit in growing Logan’s scale-up community,” he said.

“We have a strong belief that Logan’s future as a globally viable and exciting place for innovative and high-growth companies to call home is well within reach.

“As a community and as an ecosystem, we will all benefit from attracting and growing great, innovative companies in our city and helping them succeed.”

Council has appointed an independent Advisory Board to review Portfolio Company applications and make recommendations. The board has been appointed for an initial one-year term and is made up of experienced entrepreneurs and experts in developing and scaling new ventures.

In addition to Go1, Council has partnered with the Los Angeles-based Network for Global Innovation to deliver the coLab program.

For more information about the coLab Growth Hub, phone 3412 4328, email admin@thecolab.online or go to thecolab.online

LOED welcomes new Small Business Adviser

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Logan Office of Economic Development is pleased to introduce you to our new Small Business Adviser, Michelle Martin.

Michelle comes from an extensive background in the finance and banking sector, and has a passion for helping small businesses establish, sustain and grow.

Make an appointment today, and find out what free or low-cost support services are available.

Contact Us
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Logan Office of Economic Development’s business support service provides free and low cost business support services for Logan-based business owners needing assistance to establish, sustain and grow their businesses.

Our services include the following –

  • One-on-one meetings/consultations
  • Business information
  • Business assistance and referrals
  • Business workshops
  • Monthly business e-newsletters
  • Linking your business to local opportunities
  • Assistance with Council requirements
  • Property selection
  • Relocation, expansion and redevelopment support
  • Export assistance
  • Assistance finding local staff

For more details view the Business Support Services Brochure.