Thu was referred to EFS Liverpool by word-of-mouth. She had heard that APM Employment Services also offered small business assistance.

Thu approached a Vietnamese-speaking employee at the APM Cabramatta office who suggested to her to meet with its Entrepreneurship Facilitator.

We engaged the assistance of the local NEIS Consultant who speaks Vietnamese to assist us during our first session.

Many migrant Australians bring with them skills and experience from their former countries. Thu had worked as a hairdresser in Vietnam and wanted to start her own hairdressing salon in Cabramatta.

We noted to Thu that Cabramatta was over-supplied with hair and beauty salons. Thu responded that she already had many enquiries from friends in the Vietnamese-Australian communities to provide mobile hairdressing services. In short, Thu felt confident that upon starting her business she could bring to it a pre-sourced set of customers.

We agreed with Thu that her reputation would be an asset to her business. She had done her market research and understood who her core clients were. Thu was also confident that she could source hairdressing products and equipment, as well as staff needed to run the business.

Thu specifically required assistance from EFS Liverpool in locating a space for her business and negotiating a commercial lease that was COVID-friendly. We referred Thu to several local commercial property agents. We also suggested to Thu that it was very important to get the commercial lease right, particularly in these uncertain times when another lockdown could severely curtail business cashflow. 

We referred Thu to several online legal services including Law Path and Legal Vision. However, because of language barriers we suggested Thu speak with Independent Lawyers in Cabramatta which has bi-lingual solicitors who specialise in Retail and Commercial Leasing. This service provider was able to negotiate COVID-19 clauses into her lease that would give her rental relief in the event of the re-introduction of government mandated restrictions. 

EFS was proud to be invited to the opening day of Thu’s business on 15 October 2020. We observed a shop full of waiting customers which was a testament to Thu’s reputation for styling hair. This was an example of the importance of EFS Liverpool promoting its program to internal stakeholders at APM Employment Services, without which Thu may never have been referred to the Entrepreneurship Facilitator.