Buy Local Sunshine Coast

10/10/2026

This week's member spotlight: Ruth Holland of LINK Sunshine Coast.

Ruth is a Chartered Accountant who owned and ran a business right here on the Coast for 13 years. These days she's a business broker in Maroochydore: she'll work out what your business is worth, sell it, or help you buy one. When we looked in early October she had 11 businesses listed, from a dance school to an industrial recruitment business.

"we sell businesses" (LINK's tagline)

Read Ruth's full story on the Buy Local website. Link in the comments.

Voiceover created with an AI clone of Luke's own voice.

08/10/2026

Make room for a little local adventure, Sunny Coasters! ☀️
9–12 October brings market finds, music, comedy and creative time with neighbours.

FRI 9 OCT
🎬 Film Club · 10am · Gympie Library
🎨 Art Group · 10am · Rainbow Beach Library
💃 Noosaki Greek Dance · 4pm · Noosa Leisure Centre
🏇 Race Night · gates 4.30pm · SCTC, Caloundra
😂 Lawrence Mooney · 8pm · Events Centre, Caloundra

SAT 10 OCT
🥕 Kawana Farmers Market · 6am · Birtinya
🧵 Eumundi Markets · 7.30am · Memorial Drive
💎 Nambour Gemfest · 8am · Nambour Showgrounds
🇫🇯 Fiji Day · 10am · Meridan Community Centre
🍻 Hinterland Craft B**r Festival · noon–8pm · Imperial Hotel, Eumundi. Free noon–1pm, then $5.
🐦 Bird-Friendly Garden talk · 1pm · Gympie Library
🎸 Fire and Rain · 7.30pm · Events Centre, Caloundra

SUN 11 OCT
🍓 Noosa Farmers Market · 7am · Weyba Road
🍃 Cudgerie Bushcare · 8am · Flooded Gum Place, Black Mountain
🛍️ Caloundra Street Fair · 8am · Bulcock Street
🌳 Adi Thomas garden music · 10.30am · Noosa Botanic Gardens
🌶️ Chilli, Chocolate & B**r Festival · 11am · Brouhaha Baringa. $2 entry; under-3s free.
🎤 Comedy Showcase · 7.30pm · Events Centre, Caloundra

MON 12 OCT
🪡 Craft Group · 10am · Gympie Library
🌸 Paper Blooms · 10.30am · Rainbow Beach Library

Bring a friend and make a day of it!
Full guide: https://www.buylocalsunshinecoast.com.au/guide-to-the-weekend

From organiser, council and venue listings. Details can change; confirm before heading out.

07/10/2026

🌿 Welcome to this week’s Local Shopping Guide — a simple way to discover useful offers from Sunshine Coast businesses.

📖 Spotlight: “From the lost-property pile to a local business: the teacher behind FindMe” follows teacher Tim Barrett from a school lost-property problem to FindMe QR stickers. Read how he tested and refined a simple way for someone who finds a belonging to contact its owner, without a dedicated app.

🏠 ARCPANEL: A first quote for insulated roofing can include a gift pack; ask the Coolum Beach team what is available.

🎁 Natural Surrender: The 1kg leather conditioner has its own product page; check surfaces and postage before ordering.

💧 Airqua Water from Air: The 30L water-from-air unit has a dedicated product page with finance from A$99 a month; review the terms.

🎉 Alsahwa Estate: The estate has packages for an end-of-year group celebration; enquire about dates and inclusions.

💬 Chat To Clients: Its named five-minute conversion system is for businesses reviewing lead follow-up; ask what the package covers.

🌿 Alexandra Morgan: The Lifestyle Collective explores food and lifestyle habits through a membership programme.

👨👩👧 Fantastic Futures: A digital parenting resource to explore if you want to see Fantastic Futures’ approach and current inclusions.

Browse the full guide when you have a moment.
https://www.buylocalsunshinecoast.com.au/shopping-guide

06/10/2026

Tonight's the night.

Sam Tornatore joins Local Networking Nights from 5:30pm at Buderim Tavern — free to attend, food included, first-timers always welcome.

If your sales conversations have been going quiet lately, tonight's built for exactly that.

Grab your free ticket:
https://events.humanitix.com/local-networking-nights-october-2026

See you from 5:30.

06/10/2026

The finale of the Service Design Series. Promotion does not create anything, it only carries. Ten minutes on why it goes last, then the part most people skip: how to decide what to say, where to say it and how often.

Why promotion is the only seventh of the mix most local businesses ever touch
Integrated marketing communications in plain words: one message, several channels, each doing a different job
The five tools of the promotion mix, and what each is good and bad at
Which mediums people actually trust, with the numbers, and a correction to something I have said for years
Positive or negative framing, and the finding that matters more than either
Feel, think, do as the test of any message
Five questions before you spend a dollar or an hour: who, what, how, where, when

Download resources: https://www.buylocalsunshinecoast.com.au/local-marketing-livestream-articles/episode-19-promotion-the-last-p-not-the-first

05/10/2026

Here we go. Today at 2pm, episode eight of eight. This is the last one.

Today is Promotion, and I left it until the end on purpose.

Two owners, one last time. The first has posted religiously for two years. Never missed a Monday. Ask what they are actually claiming and you get quality service, family owned and operated. Same as everyone else in the category. A megaphone with nothing true to put through it.

The second has quietly built something excellent. Turns up when they say they will. Rings you back. And they have never told a single person outside their customer list.

One is loud and empty. The other is full and silent.

Today is for both of them. Ten minutes on why promotion goes last. Then what to actually do once you get there.

What you will walk away with:

✅ Five questions to run before you spend a dollar or an hour on promotion
✅ Which mediums people actually believe, and where I had it slightly wrong
✅ When to lead with what they gain, and when to name what waiting costs
✅ A four second test that kills about half of what is on your website

The trade, the café and the broker, run through all five.

Free workbook, no email to hand over. Today is pages 13 and 14.

Join here: https://live.buylocalsunshinecoast.com.au/

Thank you for coming along for all eight.

You have not got it wrong. You have just not got it right yet.

See you live today at 2pm.

05/10/2026

This week's member spotlight: FindMe, one of our newest members.

After 15 years as a teacher, Tim Barrett kept seeing the same thing: a lost-property table full of drink bottles, lunchboxes and hats, with nobody coming to claim them. So he built FindMe: smart QR stickers for your belongings. Register your pack online, stick them on, and if something goes missing, whoever finds it can scan the code and call or message you. No app needed.

"If things get reunited with people, it stops them from going out and buying another one." (Tim Barrett)

Read Tim's full story on the Buy Local website. Link in the comments.

Voiceover created with an AI clone of Luke's own voice.

05/10/2026

The Coast's next fortnight has room for a useful conversation, whether you want a new skill, a sector contact or a relaxed introduction. Choose one event that fits your current priority and go ready to listen as well as introduce yourself.

Sponsored spotlight: Local Networking Nights is at Buderim Tavern on Wed 7 Oct, 5:30-7:30 pm. Sam Tornatore shares practical ideas for trust-based selling, with free food, refreshments and time to meet local business people.

☕ Tue 6 Oct | 4556 Coffee Catch Up | 7:30-8:30 am | Buderim
🖤 Tue 6 Oct | First Nations Business Showcase | 3:45-7:30 pm | Bokarina
📋 Wed 7 Oct | Contract Delivery workshop | 8:30-11:30 am | Bokarina
🎤 Wed 7 Oct | SCEIA In Good Company | 6-7:30 pm | Mooloolaba
💡 Thu 8 Oct | Growth on the Coast | 5:30-8:30 pm | Buderim
☕ Fri 9 Oct | October Coffee Connects | 7:30-8:30 am | Cooroy
🧭 Tue 13 Oct | Boundaries That Build Respect | 6-8 pm | Sippy Downs
🏭 Wed 14 Oct | Manufacturing Grants Workshop | 11 am-1:30 pm | Nambour
🚀 Thu 15 Oct | Capital Coast Deep Tech Summit | 9 am-7 pm | Sippy Downs
🤝 Thu 15 Oct | Cooroy Chamber Annual Dinner | 6-8:30 pm | Cooroy

You will also find bookkeeper, property and housing-industry events, women-in-business evenings, and short online workshops. Ask the host for an introduction if the room is new to you, then follow up with one person while the conversation is fresh.

View the complete guide: https://www.buylocalsunshinecoast.com.au/networking-guide

04/10/2026

02/10/2026

This week's member spotlight: Blue Seas AI Consulting.

Bart Puszko spent 16 years in finance and risk for big banks in Melbourne, London and Poland. Then he moved to the Sunshine Coast, learnt AI by tinkering, and now helps local businesses hand their admin to AI. One system he built for a Sunshine Coast law firm files 4,000 emails a month before anyone touches them.

"AI is like an employee. Start small, build trust, then build bigger." (Bart Puszko)

Read Bart's full story on the Buy Local website. Link in the comments.

Disclosure: Buy Local has worked with Blue Seas AI as a client.

Voiceover created with an AI clone of Luke's own voice.