Audio: Music playing.
Text: Ready for Growth. Business Victoria.
Vision: View of Edwina talking with one of her employees.
Edwina Walsh - Assembled Threads
I’ve been in the rag trade my whole career. I’m a very passionate product developer, so worked for big-box retailers and we were travelling more and more to Bangladesh and I could see the working conditions there, and it made me wonder what had happened to our local manufacturing industry in Victoria.
Vision: View of Edwina and employee looking at finished garment. View of person at sewing machine working. View of Assembled Threads signage on window. View of employees working, close-up view of thread.
Edwina Walsh
Assembled Threads is an employment-focused social enterprise. It’s a manufacturing hub where we’ve actually recruited, mostly women from refugee - migrant backgrounds who have a passion for sewing.
Vision: View of Edwina showing employee how she wants something done. View of employees working.
Edwina Walsh
We have this really great artisan talent coming in from our migrant - refugee populations. I thought I could match that with product development and get the team up to speed really quickly.
Text: Benefits to business through Ready for Growth.
Edwina Walsh
For me the Ready for Growth Program provided strategic counselling and coaching.
Vision: View of Edwina sitting at desk with her computer and talking with Helen from BDO
Edwina Walsh
When you’re running a business yourself you are so deep into it and you’re doing five jobs, one person. You don’t actually take enough time out to solve the bigger strategic questions.
Text: An expert Growth Facilitator matched to your business.
Edwina Walsh
It was really great working with BDO’s Growth Facilitator.
Vision: View of computer showing Helen speaking with Edwina.
Helen - BDO Growth Facilitator
Hi Edwina.
Edwina Walsh
Hi Helen, how are you?
Helen
I’m good thanks. So, how have things been?
Edwina Walsh
And I found that talking to Helen gave me headspace to just talk about some of those bigger issues, get some experienced feedback, was really convenient.
Vision: View of Edwina working at desk. Close-up view of Assembled Threads brochure. View of Helen on the computer speaking with Edwina. View of employees working.
Edwina Walsh
Helen was great because she gave me different options on how I could bring expertise into the business and raised the idea of building an advisory group, that’s a really key way to actually build that expertise around you.
Vision: View of Edwina talking with one of her employees. Close-up view of clothes tags on garments.
Edwina Walsh
I think the program has really helped me to focus on where we want to go in the future and to really focus on building our productivity in key areas.
Vision: View of employees working.
Edwina Walsh
The program was really helpful in making me think more as a business strategist as opposed to a product developer.
Text: To help your business get ready for growth, register your interest in the program. Visit: business.vic.gov.au/readyforgrowth. Business Victoria.
[Victoria State Government. Authorised by the Victorian government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne.
