Small Business Banter

PART 1 - Lloyd Polkinghorne on how integral buying and running the local community newspaper was in his physical and emotional recovery from a traumatic injury sustained while working on his farm.

Episode Summary

Lloyd Polkinghorne shares his very personal story about recovering from a traumatic farm accident. At wits end years after the accident an unexpected opportunity to buy and run the local newspaper, with no relevant experience, turned out to be a master stroke.

Episode Notes

@LloydPolkinghorne was a #ricefarmer upuntil a #traumaticbraininjury caused by a mis-firing shotgun. After years of struggling physically and emotionally he needed to 'get back on the horse'. He did this by buying his local community newspaper  www.thebridgenews.com.au . It was a bold and brave step. He made it with full support of family and an internal sense that he had to do something, knowing full well farming still wasn't an option.  

In our discussion we cover;

• the importance of having something meangingful to do 
• #Smallbusiness as a vehicle for physical and emotional recovery
• how a business becomes a part of an #owners  #identity
• the impact on an in individual when work is removed from their life #purpose 
• how the opportunity to buy the local #communitynewspaper brought purpose and the opportunity to represent the community he had grown up in
• assessing the opportunity to take over the a business 
• how Lloyd’s #farming background taught him to be adaptable and think outside of the square which is what he had to do after his move into another profession
• what Lloyd learnt during the process of buying; in particular the process of being tapped on the shoulder to take over the newspaper
• the importance of having a good advisor during the process
• the role small businesses, including the local newspaper, play in a community and how the paper gives community members something to enjoy that is incredibly important to their routine 
• how the local newspaper has become a key advocate for #ruralcommunities when it comes to state governments and electorates
• addressing the challenges that can arise running a rural newspaper due to differing views across the community
• balancing the #247newscycle that comes with running a newspaper and your personal life
• how small businesses fit into #ruraleconomies and the impact on #localtourism can have
• the impact COVID-19 has had on rural and regional towns, their economies, population and consequently small businesses
• exploring the idea of moving into a #cooperativemodel of business for the newspaper
• acknowledging when time frames arise naturally and making the decision to then move on from a business
• what approach Lloyd is taking to advertise and start the process of moving on from the newspaper

Along the way Lloyd also founded www.facebook.com/Lloydswalkforwater