Moving forward beyond disaster recovery to business strength
Jules has run Jules Fashions in the heart of Mission Beach for sixteen years.
Jules is one of many small business owners across the Cyclone Jasper impacted region to have accessed free, impartial Small Business Financial Counselling and Wellbeing Coaching support funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements - helping small businesses like Jules Fashions move beyond Jasper with the confidence that they're not doing it alone.
For sixteen years, Jules has run Jules Fashions in the heart of Mission Beach. When Cyclone Jasper closed the Bruce Highway, she watched the flow-on effects reach every part of her business, and the wider community.
“Having the closure on the Bruce Highway had an impact on all of us,” Jules said. “With traffic stopped, we weren't getting anything coming through to Mission Beach, which impacted on the business.”
Further impacts since Cyclone Jasper have also added to the pressures of running a small business. Rising fuel costs and the fall-out from media coverage has helped keep visitors away from the region.
“Tourists are too frightened to come to this area up north and Mission Beach,” Jules said. Trying to adapt and grow the business through it all brought its own frustrations. “To buy stock, and you don't have the people, then you're stuck with all the stock,” she said. “It's not just myself, it's every other business it has impacted on.”
Like many small business owners, Jules was very independent and used to carrying things on her own. “I was very reluctant because I just felt, you know, I've done this on my own. I can bear this.”
That reluctance began to shift through her work with Small Business Financial Counsellor Kendell Thessman.
Kendell connected Jules with Wellbeing Coaching support alongside the financial counselling, worked with her to review her finances, and options for the business including accessing grants to implement her plans. She now has boosted her confidence in running her shop, as well as made a successful move to online retail.
When it came to grants, Jules says she wouldn't have made it through the application without that help. “It was just another stress to add through that whole period of time,” she said.
Handing over her figures wasn't easy. “I was very reluctant to forward my figures, thinking that I really did not meet the criteria,” Jules said.
Kendell's approach made the difference. “She just made the whole process so smooth,” Jules said. “Looking at the figures, she said, no, you've done really well, but we need to work on this. So we worked through that.”
That support also helped Jules see the bigger picture. “I had so much doubt at the time, is it me, is it the business, is it what I'm buying,” she said. “But then again, you look at it and go, there's no people. We're dealing with media with the cyclones and traffic not able to get through on the Bruce Highway. We've copped a lot here in Mission Beach.”
Jules now recommends the service to other business owners, and points to its confidentiality as part of what made it possible for her to open up. “It helps you to go, no, you're not doing the wrong thing, you are doing things the right way,” she said.
Her advice to others facing the same isolation is simple. “Seek support and help. Just reach out and put your pride aside. Move forward, because you're just going to go around in circles.”
“Having that connection with Kendell, she was able to say, don't worry Jules, we'll get through this. And sure enough, she did get me through that.”
Assistance provided through the jointly funded Commonwealth-state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
