There is something rather lovely about being in a room full of people who genuinely want their local community, and each other, to thrive.
Last week, Anica, Kim-Marie, Robin and I attended the 2026 Willoughby Council Support Local campaign launch. I was invited to speak about what being part of the original 2024 campaign has meant to Philosophy Australia, something I've shared more about here.
We all came away with slightly different observations from the conversations before, after and around the speeches, and have loved discussing how we can “ripple” more with those thoughts.
Kim-Marie AND Anica loved the welcoming community vibe and the genuine support in the room. Robin described it as a night that went beyond celebrating individual businesses and became more about building a better suburb and community, somewhere people enjoy being and want to stay. I think that's rather lovely.
Where are you sending your customer next? One comment from the CommBank presentation particularly stuck with all of us.
People in the Willoughby catchment don't just shop. They shop and dine. And they don't just dine. They dine and shop. Well, of course they do. We immediately all connected this to something we already do at Philosophy.
Twice a year, when we hold our warehouse sales, we encourage customers to make a day of it. Bring a girlfriend. Have a rummage through the rails. Find something fabulous. Then wander around the corner to Papa's Café on Frenchs Road for coffee, cake or lunch, and perhaps visit UbyKate while you're in the neighbourhood.
Papa's does the same for us, displaying our warehouse sale poster and sending customers our way. There's no complicated collaboration agreement. It's simply, "You're here, they're great, go and see them."
But it made all of us wonder: why aren't we doing more of this? Coffee and clothes. Jewellery and lunch. Hair and homewares. Fitness and fashion.
Different businesses. The same woman. The same day.
We're all trying to get customers through our own doors, obviously, but perhaps part of supporting local is also asking where we can encourage them to go next. This is something we will definitely explore.
Collaboration needs connection
Robin's other main takeaway was the opportunity for better business collaboration, but also the difficulty of making enough connections in a room containing hundreds of people. Realistically, you might properly speak to three, four or five.
Maybe even one is enough, if you do something with that connection afterwards.
Kim-Marie had a similar thought from a practical perspective. Could future events make those connections easier? Name badges identifying local businesses, Council and other attendees. A welcome desk. A photo wall encouraging businesses to take and share photographs. More opportunities to find each other and continue the conversation afterwards. A business card lucky dip.
Because the power of an event like this, is really with the attendees. Not simply getting hundreds of local people into one room but helping some of those people leave knowing someone they didn't know when they arrived.
Making the challenge after any Support Local event in the future, to simply Contact again with one person you met.
Send the email. Connect on Socials. Make the introduction. Small pebble, lots of ripples.
Personally, I’ve already organised a coffee date with someone I met on the night, and guess where I am having it!
If you need help, ask
I was so delighted to have been approached by some many as I came off the stage, and loved knowing that my story was appreciated, but from those new conversations, two topics stuck.
One - where do I go when I need help? My answer was simple. I ask.
People are extraordinarily generous with their knowledge, contacts and experience, but they aren't mind readers. They can't help if they don't know you need it. Ask your local business community. Ask LinkedIn, and your network. Ask somebody who's already done the thing you're trying to do.
And then pay it forward by Knowing your own magic dust.
What's the thing you know rather a lot about that could make somebody else's business journey easier? Don't always wait to be asked. Offer it. That feels very much like the community we'd experienced that evening; people genuinely wanting other people in the room to do well.
And two - One person is enough
When asked why I describe us as slow fashion brand, I chatted about the extraordinary amount of clothing being discarded and how easily fast fashion encourages us to buy more, faster and cheaper, and threw in one of my favourite quotes “Life is fast. Fashion shouldn't be”
I'm not going to change the fashion industry with one speech, article or Instagram post. But if one person hears me talking about buying fewer, better clothes and two days later pauses before pressing BUY on something they don't really need, that's a win.
And the same principle applies to Support Local.
One recommendation. One introduction. One coffee. One new collaboration. One person deciding to stay in the neighbourhood for lunch rather than heading elsewhere. Small actions creating momentum.
Perhaps Robin summed up our collective takeaway best when she said the evening was about something bigger than individual businesses.
- Support small. Support local.
- Recommend the good people you discover.
- Ask for help when you need it.
- Offer your own magic dust when you can.
- Send your customers around the corner for coffee!
Because supporting local isn't about one business succeeding. It's about creating the kind of community where we help each other succeed, and that's something we're very happy to be part of.
