By CASEY NEILL
NEVILLE Waterman said his life journey prepared him for supporting small businesses.
His passion is the Casey Cardinia Business Hub in Victor Crescent, Narre Warren – a partnership between the City of Casey and Waterman Business Centres.
Businesses can rent small or large physical spaces, or sign up for virtual memberships that provide access to meeting spaces.
“We didn’t intend to do this. It was quite accidental,” he said.
“We have an accounting and financial planning business.
“We invited some people to come and rent some office space from us next door.
“We said to them ‘as we grow, you’re going to need to move on’ but we became friends and we enjoyed their company and they enjoyed ours.
“Their business was growing, ours was growing and so we kept doing it.
“We realised that we were doing something that was a really good idea.”
Mr Waterman said people in small business were often isolated and could achieve a lot through connecting to the right business community.
“People just naturally start to collaborate, they refer, they support each other, they help each other, they give each other ideas…. ” he said.
“We then just took that to the next level.
“We structured what was happening naturally.”
The Waterman Centre opened about two years ago.
“It’s a great environment. There’s a good buzz about the place,” he said.
“This is what I do. This is what I want to do with the rest of my life. I love it.”
Mr Waterman had been in business his whole life before a 10-year break as a minister. He then transitioned back into business.
“I sincerely feel that the sum total of my life’s journey has led me to this point and that my skill set is quite unique and very relevant to building a business community,” he said.
The Casey Cardinia Business Centre meeting spaces have different themes from snow fields to rainforests.
“Professional people spend a lot of their time inside these walls,” he said.
“You want to create an environment that when you walk around it, it feels fresh, it feels open, it feels inviting, it’s encouraging, it’s inspiring.
“Whether you’re a nature-lover or not, we all feel good when we go to a park. I thought ‘I want to bring it in here’.”
The centre hosts fortnightly business group meetings.
“They’re a tangible way in which groups of about 25 businesses gather,” Mr Waterman said.
“There’s a format that’s built around giving small business people the resources to become better business owners, better business managers, and skilling them to become more successful.”
His business community idea is spreading from Casey to other regions.
“We think we can do this on a grand scale right across Melbourne,” he said.
“We’re over in Scoresby.
“Our next biggest venture will actually be over there, that’s going to be quite a large centre.”
Mr Waterman said businesses naturally outgrew the space.
“We’ve got plans to build something that’s about six times the size of this in this area,” he said.
