2021 in the rear window.

What a year that was! The BECIR has survived a challenging 12 months with the Covid economy proving very unpredictable for all the businesses we work with.

Firstly, our Tenants at Turley St. Twelve different small businesses faced some shared problems and some unique ones. Although some months were very difficult for our Tenants, assisting them with cash flow timing has helped greatly. Also, the strong sense of community at our business hub sees people lend each other support when it is really needed. Sometimes just having someone to talk to makes a difference.

I would describe this year as either ‘feast or famine’ in terms of workflow to the businesses here with Covid anxiety effecting customers the main influence on events. Difficulty in accessing parts and materials has also been a major problem for our businesses, especially in the second half of the year.

The stay at home year has been very good for the cleaning business and the upholstery business that reside at Turley St. Those with more direct customer contact as a business model have found the year more erratic.

BECIR spent a lot of time on gardening and maintenance, to upgrade our facilities and make the gardens more attractive. This is an ongoing program that will continue throughout 2022.

We saw one of our tenants, Geosim, expand into new facilities in Wacol.

We worked closely with the AusCongo Network to launch a micro business sewing project in Redbank Plains. This was a major achievement.

We advised many new, external clients on how to start their business on topics as diverse as trailer manufacturing, bullbar making and fitting, retailing at LPO franchises, organizing events, training dogs and making clothes.

We trialed a volunteer program to facilitate job seekers to get some office experience.

Overall, we are glad to get through 2021 atBECIR in Ipswich.