blog posts
Insight
What 10 years and deep curiosity has taught us
Last year TDi celebrated 10 years, and over that time we’ve had the opportunity to travel with a number of organisations and often get a bird’s eye view of what’s going on. Recently, TDi's CEO Anthea Smits, had the opportunity to reflect on what the past 10 years and deep curiosity has taught us. This article is a reflection on our top 6 learnings. READ MORE
Meaningful Conversations about Reconciliation
This month’s Meaningful Conversation coincided with the start of National Reconciliation Week so we took the opportunity to explore the notion of reconciliation, and particularly this year’s theme which invites brave action. READ MORE
How to use the Business Model Canvas in 9 Easy Steps
When it comes to creating a new business, one question looms larger than all others: “Does this have potential?” The Business Model Canvas is a great starting point. This blog by TDi's Isaac Jeffries describes how to fill out it out. READ MORE
Reflections on a year of Crisis and Challenge
As the mood becomes festive, with the end of a long year in sight, we want to take a moment to pause. It’s tempting to want to switch off, but before we do, we want to share some honest reflections of this past 12 months so that we go forward with the learning and insights of this year’s journey. READ MORE
Holiday Reading Recommendations
The TDi team spend a lot of time reading (or listening) to books and podcasts throughout the year. This year has been out of the ordinary, to say the least, so our reading and watching suggestions for this holiday season are a mix of fun and educational - just to match the mood of the year!Carlo Demaio Carlo is the proud Dad to a 1 year old daughter, so his recommendations reflect the most important role he plays. 'Spot Loves His Dad' - Eric Hill 'The Llama Who Had No Pajama' - Mary Anne Hobberman 'Dark Emu' - Brue Pascoe 'Australia Day' Stan Grant Podcast: 'How I built ... READ MORE
It takes a village to grow an inclusive sustainable business
TDi has been committed to inclusive sustainable businesses since the early days of the social enterprise movement in Australia. READ MORE
Indigenous tourism is key to economic recovery
Long-time friend, and associate of TDi, Ash Bartley has just started a new role with Visit Victoria. We caught up with her recently to celebrate her new role and ask about the opportunity for Indigenous tourism in Australia’s economic recovery. READ MORE
Flexible and responsive coaching is key to sustaining women’s economic empowerment during a crisis
While each business owner faces their own set of challenges in response to the uncertainty and upheaval of COVID-19, we are observing a series of consistent coaching requirements emerge. READ MORE
When life gives you lemons… pivot your business model
Nemika Brunton is based in Alotau, Papua New Guinea. We met her during the YuMi Tourism Partners Pilot program. The program addressed starting small, testing and learning, and how to adapt and respond to market needs. These lessons have certainly helped Nemika shift her business focus in response to COVID-19. Tourism is a key industry for the town and many of the local businesses were tourism based. So, the impact of COVID-19 hit the town hard. Many locals - including Nemika - have adapted quickly to totally new businesses and customers. READ MORE
Resilience, at what cost?
Over the past six months we as a team have navigated our own business and helped hundreds of others to do the same. We went from having a clear business model and ready to write our best year ever to having nothing as certain and many parts of our own business model under threat. READ MORE
Finding motivation to continue business during COVID-19
By Isaac Jeffries & Erin Wallis As the current economic climate evolves with COVID-19, we have been sharing some perspective from both our own work and the continual conversations and support we’re offering others. Initially, we shared a metaphor about what this first felt like – like our house was burning down and we were setting up camp. After a few weeks set up at camp, and many conversations by the campfire later, we then shared some perspective on what people were feeling and how they were coping. Now five months into these altered conditions, we've started to hear ... READ MORE
Pivoting during COVID: responses from Fiji
Recently, we caught up with Deb Sadranu at Essence of Fiji to see how things are going for her, her business, and Fiji in the face of COVID-19. Tourism is a key industry for Fiji, and Essence of Fiji usually serves the tourists. As a result of COVID-19, Deb’s whole business model has pivoted from predominantly local, in-store sales, to predominantly international, online sales. READ MORE