Homestead Hub has its roots in Central West
FELICITY ‘Flic’ Brown didn’t know what life had in store when she set out from Dubbo in her trusty Subaru ute a few decades ago, spending time on some of the nation’s largest cattle stations before meandering up the Western Australian coast to settle in Broome, one of that state’s prime tourist destinations.
In her spare time she began making hats and inadvertently became a star in New York’s Fashion Week while visiting the Big Apple – she’s now appeared there three times with her Hats by Felicity brand.
Now she’s added the title “award-winning businesswoman” to her name and is celebrating one year since launching an online hub to address the “hair-tearing frustration and overwhelm” country Australians experience when they search for a product or service on the internet.
Felicity developed The Homestead Hub to connect people in rural, regional and remote areas with suppliers who genuinely understand their needs. Suppliers pay a fixed annual subscription to be listed and no commissions are taken on any products or services.
Within 10 months website received the Highly Commended Award for Innovation at the Genoffgrid 2021 Broome Business Excellence Awards.
The centralised, easy-to-use portal lists a broad range of trusted suppliers in one convenient online location. Customers simply enter the hub and find who or what they are looking for by region, supplier name or industry category. There are currently more than 24 convenient “rooms”, ranging from retail to
construction.
“There’s nothing worse than having to squeeze your business into a category that doesn’t make sense – if a supplier’s category isn’t there then we can build it,” says Felicity.
The Homestead Hub is the culmination of Felicity’s direct experiences as an outback artist and business owner, as well her lived experience growing up on a NSW sheep property, and several stints working on remote stock camps and cattle stations in the Northern Territory and Western Australia over the past 30 years.
She came up with the idea for the hub after the arrival of Covid-19, mapping out the initial concept for a pandemic-proof business on butcher’s paper.
“I have a huge energy for regional businesses and promoting their expertise and enabling collaborations with fellow business owners – this has been happening since day one of the Hub and makes my heart sing,” she said.
The Homestead Hub has aligned with Beyond Blue, making a commitment to raise awareness of available mental health services, particularly for rural, regional and remote residents during these difficult times.
Polly Edmunds qualifies as a remote Aussie resident, living at Hooley Station in Western Australia’s Pilbara region and says the online hub is a Godsend.
“We are long overdue for an online hub like this that immediately connects our industry to what we need,” Mrs Edmunds said.
“There are countless times when I’ve needed to buy something and couldn’t find what I was looking for without endless Googling and not
getting the result that I want.”