Laticia Gibson grew up in regional Australia and has a strong driving passion to see the emergence of unsung heroes and heroines of regional and remote Australian businesses to be brought to the forefront of the Australian business community.
TS: Tell us about your calling to starting Holgro and Blue Clay.
LG: Blue Clay has evolved from a video production agency, to a full-service branding agency specialising in regional Australia. I have always had a passion for regional Australia because I grew up and have spent most of my adult life working and living in regional areas and I am just really passionate about the people.
The issues that come up are super unique to regions and others are no different to anything that people in the city experience. But with the tyranny of distance and a number of other issues, it can be more impactful in those areas.
TS: Tell us a little bit more about the launch of Holgro and where you're at in that journey.
LG: We are in the beta stage, testing with small segments and at full scale versus subscription-based membership platforms where people can access mentors, their very own mentor group, community chats and a whole range of other services and connecting points on the platform, including things like jobs boards.
We are really focused on building regional communities and connecting those communities to support each other economically, as well as, I guess, in that nice touchy-feely way as well. We are giving them access to a whole range of really superior education products, produced in a way that is really focused on how people need and want to learn.
TS: Thinking about your passion surrounding regional businesses, how can SMEs really create more value in the world to not only survive, but to thrive and create growth and new opportunities?
LG: I think 2020 has pushed absolutely every single person on the planet in some way or another and regional Australia was hit by drought, fires, and then Covid, so people in the regions have had to re-evaluate a lot of things in their businesses.
hate to use the word pivot, but that's what they've done. And it's really exciting, because people who don't know my business very well often go, ‘Is there any work in regional Australia?’ I always say they would be surprised at the amazing entrepreneurs in regional Australia, the unsung heroes, because the regions are not just about farming. Some of the most inspiring business leaders I've ever met are in regional Australia.
TS: Are there any kind of consistent threads why organisations haven't wanted to embrace the digital world?
LG: I think there's a couple of different forces at play here. From a psychological perspective, I think there's a lot of fear - if it ain't broke, why fix it?
And then I guess there is a reality perspective of having access to strong internet connections. I think in the city area you take for granted the kinds of speeds that you're able to get, but in areas not far out of the cities are people who really struggle to stay connected and keep a strong connection point with their internet. And dropouts are not conducive to running a digital business.
TS: So what's the key message you are really passionate about that really furthers the enablement of regional businesses?
LG: Empowerment is the word that comes through. Look, as a business owner, you want to do everything yourself, not necessarily because you want to, but when you first start out you have to. And I think what Covid has made people realise is that we need to relinquish a little bit of control, we need to stop micromanaging, we need to look at smarter ways to do things and use what we have in a smarter way.
And with that, I think when you create space, and you reduce the overwhelm, you're able to get that clarity that you need to be able to take the step in the right direction. That alone opens up a whole conversation about mental and physical well being and why that happens.
Interested in learning more? Listen to our entire conversation with Laticia Gibson at the TradeSquare podcast, TSQ here.
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