October is Small Business Month! And to celebrate, we’re highlighting some of the great small businesses we have throughout the region. Read all the stories here.
Today we’re celebrating three local businesses that keep the New England well fed, well minded and well supported.
Rachel Brown Nourishment
Nourishment with a personal, holistic approach
Uralla, NSW
For Uralla local Rachel Brown, nourishment is about more than what is on the plate. Through Rachel Brown Nourishment, she is creating an online community for women and exploring different approaches to wellbeing, with a particular focus on nutrition and supporting women through the different seasons of life.
A local mum of three, Rachel has built her business around her passion for learning and her desire to help women develop a more personal relationship with food and wellbeing. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Clinical Nutrition and a Master’s degree in Aromatherapy, along with training in Taoist energetics, German New Medicine and the GAPS diet.
Rachel is also continuing to develop her knowledge while building her business and community around Uralla and the surrounding region.
What makes her approach personal is the lived experience she brings to her work. Rachel says she wants women to feel empowered to make informed choices using the resources already available to them, rather than feeling they need to rely on expensive wellness products.
Her work draws together the areas she has studied with a strong belief in connection, learning and community. She hopes to create a space where women can come together, share experiences and explore ways of nourishing themselves through life’s different stages.
For Rachel, the goal is simple: to help create a community of women who feel supported, informed and empowered to take an active role in their own wellbeing.
The Rural Sitter – Pet, Property & Equine
More than pet sitting – rural care you can trust
New England NSW
For rural and lifestyle property owners, going away can be a little more complicated than finding someone to feed the dog. Horses still need handling, livestock need checking, water systems need monitoring and gates, paddocks and property routines all need to continue.
That’s the gap Emily Hardman-Bate set out to fill when she founded The Rural Sitter, providing professional care for animals, homes and rural properties while their owners are away.
A rural woman with a lifelong connection to horses, livestock, agriculture and life on the land, Emily understands the responsibilities that come with owning a rural property. Her own experience inspired her to create a service that combines genuine rural knowledge with personalised, reliable care.
The Rural Sitter provides services ranging from daily care visits through to live-in property and animal care, including feeding, medication, equine handling, property checks and water management. Emily also works with a network of carefully selected sitters and rural professionals, allowing the business to support clients across regional and rural Australia.
While Emily is the person behind the business, she is also studying a Bachelor of Business, majoring in Management and Marketing – bringing together her practical rural background with formal business knowledge.
For Emily, it comes down to trust. Rural properties are more than houses, and animals are more than pets – they are often a livelihood, a lifestyle and part of the family.
The Rural Sitter aims to give owners the confidence to head away knowing the things that matter most are being properly cared for.
North West Business Tech Solutions
Local tech support, built for the bush
Tamworth / North West NSW
Technology can be frustrating enough without having to explain your problem to someone hundreds of kilometres away. That’s where Tamworth-based North West Business Tech Solutions (NWBTS) is aiming to make a difference, providing practical technology support to households and businesses across North West NSW.
The business is 100 per cent owner-operated by fourth-generation local Logan Fletcher, with services ranging from general tech support and media conversion through to website development and more.
What sets NWBTS apart is its deliberate focus on regional and rural communities. Rather than trying to be everything to everyone, the business has chosen to concentrate on supporting the people and businesses of North West NSW.
NWBTS also takes a distinctly human approach to technology, describing itself as 100 per cent AI-free. For customers who prefer dealing directly with a real person rather than an automated system, that’s an important point of difference.
The business is also open seven days a week, with operating hours extending to 13 hours a day, making support available when many people are actually free to deal with their technology needs.
For Logan, being a fourth-generation local is part of the reason for keeping the business firmly focused on the region.
Whether it’s helping a household with a technology problem, converting old media or building a website for a local business, NWBTS is focused on providing accessible tech services to the communities it calls home.
Throughout October, we’ll run stories highlighting the great local businesses we have right here in our communities. This is a free service – the businesses highlighted have not paid for this story.
Want to highlight your business? Just fill in this form – places are limited.
Please share this story to help support New England businesses! See all our Small Business Month profiles here.