No business is an island.

In these times it is vital to share experiences, access quality information, discover new methods and network with other businesses - to keep your business healthy and to grow it into the future.

The NSW Business Collaborations Forums are being presented in the Hunter and on the Central Coast for the owners, operators and senior managers of local businesses, organisations, government departments and agencies.

The Forums aim to get business talking - at all levels, across all industries - with the objective of informing and motivating the individual as well as assisting the recovery of the local economy.

The full day conference program features keynote presentations from Tony Gattari (who was responsible for the outstanding success of the Harvey Norman Computer franchise); Steven Bradbury, OAM, Australia’s first gold winter Olympics medallist; Jaye Radisch, CEO of the Council of Small Business of Australia; and Joss Evans, CEO of Innovic and International Committee Member of Small Enterprises of Australia & New Zealand.

The Forums will also feature workshops across the day - addressing marketing, online/digital communications and finance.

I’ll be there and in fact I’ll be a on the panel for the workshop: Tweets, blogs, lenses and wikis: Getting in touch with your customers online

The Hunter Business Collaborations Forums is being held at the Newcastle City Hall on Tuesday September 1, and the Central Coast Forum is at Mingara on Thursday September 3.

Visit www.thebrew.com.au for more information.