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15 Ways To Support Small Businesses

September 7 2020 By melbournemamma Leave a Comment

15 ways to support small businesses

Now, more than ever, small businesses need OUR help and I’ve got 15 ways to support Melbourne small businesses during the COVID-19 lockdown and beyond. ❤️  ⁣⁣

Like many small business owners, I had great plans for my (digital marketing and social media management) business this year. Following on from the success of 2019, I thought this year was going to be a game-changer for me. (could. NOT. have. been. more. wrong.)

Enter COVID-19 and all my plans went out to window – along with the plans of hundreds of thousands of other small businesses owners in Melbourne.

Even in our wildest nightmares, I don’t think any of us would have envisioned, let alone prepared for what was to come.

While some businesses have been able to PIVOT!!! (Ross Geller would be so proud – ha!) and are thriving in this current situation, unfortunately, there are so many more that have closed temporarily or permanently.

Supporting small businesses does not have to be costly either, in fact, there are a few ways to show your support that won’t cost you a cent.

Here are 15 ways YOU can help local shops, restaurants, and others. If you’ve got any ways to support Melbourne small businesses, please share them in the comments below:

15 Ways to Show Your Support

1. Purchase Products Online

You can buy pretty much everything online these days – clothing, books, electronics, pet supplies, makeup, wine and more – so do a quick search for local stores online and save yourself a trip to the shops. Some small businesses are even offering FREE local delivery to those in surrounding suburbs.

2. Purchase Gift Vouchers⁣⁣

If you can afford to do so, purchase gift vouchers from your favorite local businesses. You’ll be supporting them financially when they need it most, and although some businesses may not be able to accept them right now, you can plan a future date night, shopping spree, lunch with friends or weekend getaway.

3. Order Takeaway or Delivery

Your favorite restaurants and cafes may have had to shut their doors, but many of them still offer takeaway or delivery. If possible, order directly from the business, so they don’t lose a large chunk of the bill to an external third party (from memory UberEats takes 30% of the total). If your favourite feed is within a 5km radius from your home, why not beat the queue and pickup.

⁣⁣4. Follow, Like, Comment and Share Your Favourites on Social Media⁣⁣

Spread the news of local businesses to all of your friends and followers. If you had a delicious dinner delivered or fantastic customer service from your local book store, give them a shoutout and let everyone know. When you interact with businesses on their social media accounts, it helps with engagement, which, in turn, leads to more visibility and sales for their business.

5. Leave Positive Reviews⁣⁣

Now is the perfect time to leave reviews for all the businesses you love, but have never actually gotten around to writing a review for. Not only will it help them gain some social proof but it will also help improve their online rankings.⁣⁣

6. Keep paying your memberships and subscriptions

Subscription or membership based businesses like gyms, zoos and museums rely on regular sources of income from members. Since many of these businesses have closed, customers most likely are asking for refunds or pausing their memberships. If your income isn’t affected by lockdown, consider keeping these memberships as-is.

7. Take Online Classes

Lots of businesses are finding ways to provide value through online classes. Even if you’ve never learnt a new skill or hobby online before, now is a great time to try something while also supporting a local business.

⁣8. Refer People Directly⁣⁣

If you know someone or see someone looking for a particular product or service that one of your favourite local businesses can offer or supply, let that person know about the business and provide a link or contact details, so they can get in touch.

⁣9. Buy Quarantine/Lockdown Gifts for Loved Ones⁣⁣

If someone in your life is having a hard time, why not send them a little something to let them know that you’re thinking of them. Purchase gifts from your favorite small businesses and have them posted or delivered directly to their door.

10. Stock Up on Items You’ll Need Later⁣⁣

If you’ve got birthdays coming up in the family or you need some new gear for Summer, why not start purchasing now. It’s always great to be organised.

11. Choose Local Stores Over Chain Stores When Possible

⁣⁣Many local businesses have online stores in addition to their brick and mortar locations. Whenever possible, consider giving them your business instead of large chain stores that have an Australian wide presence.

12. Start Your Christmas Shopping

Only 111 sleeps to go⁣ – yes! I did it – I said the “C” word 😳
By the time we get out of lockdown, the shops will be blasting Christmas carols and shelves will be stocked with Christmas goodies, but why not get an early start on your shopping list and grab some fabulous unique gifts and experiences from local businesses.

13. Pay in Advance

If you have money available, pay ahead for services or activities you use regularly, even if you’re not using them right now. Think cleaning services, swimming lessons or dance classes, even pet grooming and gardening. ⁣⁣

14. Send Them A Kind Message⁣⁣

If you can’t purchase now, perhaps send a personalised message to a business owner to let them know that you’re thinking about them. If someone is trying to decide whether or not they close up shop forever or make another go of it, this could really make the difference.

⁣And last but not least…..⁣⁣

⁣⁣15. Have Patience

ALL business owners are pretty stressed right now, so have patience and be supportive. Many businesses are working at a dramatically reduced capacity, so it may take them a little longer to respond to your query or concern – especially those who have children that are learning from home. Maybe they’ve just had a really shitty day/week/month and they’re not as “present” as they usually are.

Please share your favourite Melbourne business(es) in the comments below.

Take care everyone x

⁣

Filed Under: Shopping Tagged With: melbourne, shop local, shop local melbourne, shopping

Beds 4 Everybody Mattress Giveaway

November 13 2018 By melbournemamma 49 Comments

If you’re looking for a new mattress for the kids or yourself, you need to check out Beds 4 Everybody, a Melbourne family owned AND Melbourne made mattress company.

I’ve been needing to get a new mattress for my 11 year old daughter because she wanted a bigger bed (if I had known she was going to be so tall I would have bought her a king single to start with #hindsight) but quite frankly the thought of traipsing through mattress shops all over Melbourne, trying to figure which ones to buy, was giving me a headache. There are soooooo many options when it comes to mattresses these days and I had no idea where to start.

Enter Beds 4 Everybody, a new local business, who heard that I was looking for a mattress for my daughter and offered to send me one for her AND also provide me with a mattress to giveaway to a lucky Melbourne family!

Beds 4 Everybody have one goal – to make quality beds at an affordable price.

Foam is the most expensive component of a mattress. So, Beds 4 Everybody make their mattresses with Recofoam, allowing them to produce a budget mattress with extra layers of foam and comfort. Beds 4 Everybody also sell exclusively online, which means they can heavily reduce the numerous costly overheads, and pass the savings onto customers. However, they do have an showroom in Cheltenham, if you want to have a look at the mattresses before you buy. The showroom is located within the factory where they manufacture their beds.

Beds 4 Everybody also make bed bases and ensembles. All bases are made from recycled timber and have a outer cover to match their mattresses. All products come with a 5-year warranty and also include free shipping within metropolitan Melbourne (mattresses can also be delivered across Victoria for an additional fee).

Since 2011, their parent company has supplied over 50 000 refurbished beds to Victorian charities and welfare organisations. So it seemed only logical to create Beds 4 Everybody and begin to produce brand new mattresses to sell to the public.

My daughter has now been sleeping on her new mattress for nearly two months and she loves it. We recently had a slumber party for her birthday and she insisted on dragging the mattress in to the playroom to sleep on as she now refuses to sleep on anything else.

I actually had a little nap in her bed last week  (DON’T tell her) when I had a migraine because my neighbour was mowing the lawn right near my bedroom and I needed to get as far away from the noise as possible. Her bed was so much more comfortable than my own bed.

Note to self: Do not give children comfy new mattress during last week of school term as they will not want to get out of bed. Wait until school holidays!

Check out my daughter’s first reaction to her new mattress here!

The wonderful folks at Beds 4 Everybody, are so generous, that they’ve also given me a mattress to give away to one lucky reader. Winner can choose between a single, king single or double.

Terms & Conditions

  • Entry is open to Melbourne Mamma newsletter subscribers only (subscribe here) .
  • Entrants must answer the following question in the comments below “In 25 words or less, tell me what size mattress you’d love to win and why”.
  • This competition closes at 10.00 pm (Melbourne time) on Friday, 23 November 2018.  The winner will be randomly drawn and notified via email newsletter. Any prize not claimed within 48 hours of notification will be redrawn.
  • To qualify to enter you must be aged 18+ and live within 20 km from Melbourne CBD.
  • Winner can choose from single, king single or double size mattress. Not transferable or refundable.
  • Prize is ONE mattress only (single, king single or double) and includes delivery within 20 km radius of Melbourne CBD.

 

Filed Under: Giveaways, Reviews, Shopping Tagged With: giveaway, shop local, shop local melbourne, shopping

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Tracey  {Melbourne Mamma}
As we celebrate Earth Day it’s important to reme As we celebrate Earth Day it’s important to remember that every step we make [no matter how small] to living a more sustainable and environmentally friendly life, the better this planet will be for future generations 🌏💚♻️⁣
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I’ve just started using this ECO cling wrap and ECO zipper bags, both made from sugarcane [and kindly gifted to me from @urban.ethos], so I no longer need to feel guilty about keeping my leftovers 🥗 and the kids lunches and snacks, fresh and sealed. ⁣
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“I’m shopping for my grandkids” is exactly what we should all be doing, and actively making environmentally friendly choices when shopping for products for home, the kitchen and our families. ⁣
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Start your sustainability journey at @urban.ethos 🌿⁣
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#gifted #UrbanEthos #ShopForYourGrandkids #EarthDay #GreenLiving #MelbourneMamma #BrandedContent #SustainableLiving #Melbourne #ShopLocalMelbourne
💖 Mother’s Day Giveaway 💖⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ In 💖 Mother’s Day Giveaway 💖⁣⁣
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In honour of the mother of the family, motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society.⁣⁣
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I’ve teamed up with one of my favourite local stores @belandcoathome to give you the opportunity to win the perfect self-care Mother’s Day gift, containing handmade, sustainable and ethically sourced items by Australian creatives, valued at $200!⁣⁣
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Treat yourself or someone you love 💕 ⁣
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To enter:⁣⁣
1. Follow @melbournemamma and @belandcoathome⁣⁣
2. Like this post⁣⁣
3. Tag one friend here who you think would love this prize (enter as many times as you like, tagging one new friend each time)⁣⁣
4. BONUS ENTRY if you share this post to your stories (make sure you tag us so we can see it!)⁣⁣
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Giveaway ends on Thursday 29 April at 9pm Melbourne time.⁣⁣
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Prize: One person will win a Handmade Travel mug, Organic Tea Trio, Hemp Ritual Eye Pillow, Luna Shine Body Oil, Hand Treatment and a Saide Candle. Not transferable. Australian residents only.⁣⁣
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We want to acknowledge that Mother’s Day can be a difficult time for many. If you are a motherless daughter and find this to be a challenging time, you can head to Motherless Daughters Australia for support and to connect with a community of over 5000 women who truly understand the impact of mother loss @motherlessdaughtersau⁣⁣
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Please Note: This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by Instagram Inc. By entering you are confirming you are 18+ years of age and you release Instagram of any and all responsibility and agree to the Instagram terms of use. Good luck!⁣⁣
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#mothersdaygiveaway #belandcoathome #melbournemamma #melbournelife #shoplocalmelbourne #melbournekids #melbournemum #mothersdaymelbourne #mothersdaygifts #mothersday2021
I actually finished this book over a month ago and I actually finished this book over a month ago and it still haunts me. ⁣⁣
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It’s definitely not a book for the faint hearted and I found I could only read about 100 pages at a time (it’s 700+ pages) before I’d need a break.⁣
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I wasn’t sure if I was even going to make it to the end but I quickly became invested in the characters and was glad that I did because even though this is an incredibly sad and heartbreaking story, it’s also a story of extraordinary friendships and love.⁣⁣
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My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣⁣⁣⁣.5⁣⁣
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“A Little Life is an immensely powerful and heartbreaking novel of brotherly love and the limits of human endurance.⁣⁣
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When four graduates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way, they're broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, a quick-witted, sometimes cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their center of gravity. ⁣⁣
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Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride. Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he'll not only be unable to overcome - but that will define his life forever.”⁣⁣
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📚📚 Join my Reading Challenge via the link in my bio 📚⁣⁣⁣📚⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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#alittlelife #alittlelifebook #melbournemammabooklove #mmreadingchallenge2021 ⁣#melbournemamma⁣ ⁣
Just in case you didn’t already know 😉 #supe Just in case you didn’t already know 😉

#superprofesh #thebest #justsoyaknow #best
Just a “little” bit cold and windy here in Mel Just a “little” bit cold and windy here in Melbourne today 🌧❄️💨 and definitely not the best weather for a wedding 👰🏻🤵🏼‍♂️ but it sure was wonderful to catch-up with the family and have us all together again for the first time since before the pandemic 💖⁣
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My face hurts from laughing so much 😆⁣
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#melbournelife #sundayvibes #sundayfunday #melbourneweather #family #wedding #melbourne #polkadots #windyaf
It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. ⁣
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His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle.⁣
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Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, passed away peacefully at Windsor Castle today, age 99. ⁣
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Our hearts are with the Queen and her family.⁣
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📷 @theroyalfamily
I always worry that when I read the second book in I always worry that when I read the second book in a series that I’m not going to enjoy it as much as the first but boy was I wrong with this one. ⁣
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This book is bloody fabulous and I actually think I loved it more than I loved “Beartown” (which was fantastic!!! - see my post last month).⁣
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This beautifully written story has it all; strength, love, family, grief, loyalty, courage and loss. ⁣
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You’ve done it again @backmansk and I cannot wait to read the next one #impatientlywaiting ⁣
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My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣⁣⁣⁣⭐️⁣⁣⁣⁣
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“Can a broken town survive a second tragedy?⁣
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By the time the last goal is scored, someone in Beartown will be dead . . .⁣
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Us Against You is the story of two towns, two teams and what it means to believe in something bigger than yourself. It's about how people come together - sometimes in anger, often in sorrow, but also through love. And how, when we stand together, we can bring a town back to life.”⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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📚📚 Join my Reading Challenge via the link in my bio 📚⁣⁣⁣📚⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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#usagainstyou #beartown #fredrikbackman #melbournemammabooklove #mmreadingchallenge2021 ⁣#melbournemamma⁣ ⁣
Potato cakes are one of my favourite foods 🤤, s Potato cakes are one of my favourite foods 🤤, so every year when the fabulous folks at @hunkydoryfish are donating $1 from every potato cake sold to the @rchmelbourne (Royal Children’s Hospital) @goodfridayappeal, you know I’m gonna be there supporting that 🏨👶🏼👧🏻🧒🏻⁣
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All Hunky Dory stores are open today (check individual stores for remaining Easter weekend hours), so get down there and stuff your face!!! 😁🥔⁣
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#notsponsoredjusthungry #potatocakes #goodfriday #rch #hunkydory #goodfridayappeal #royalchildrenshospitalmelbourne #melbourne #melbournelife
The easiest (& yummiest) brownies I’ve ever made The easiest (& yummiest) brownies I’ve ever made 🍫👩🏻‍🍳⁣
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Can’t take all the credit for these though, as I bought a DIY brownie kit from the @greatoceanrdchocolaterie⁣
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This one is the Triple Choc with Salted Caramel Macadamia 🤤⁣
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Less than 5 minutes to prepare and only needed to add eggs and butter. Everything else comes in the kit.⁣
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#brownies #chocolatebrownies #shoplocalmelbourne #melbournelife #chocolate
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