A desire to see local businesses succeed is driving the organisers of a new series of events in Ōamaru, offering free expert advice.

The Business Hive owners Alex Regtien and Cara Tipping Smith are behind Exchange, a series of evenings offering the chance for business owners to come together and find out more about each other.

The first event was held in March in the Hive’s co-working space, with marketing and media expert Megan Miller speaking about how to use digital marketing for business promotion.

The second is taking place this Thursday night (May 15) with accountant Loren Manning explaining how a business’s tax return can help “fuel future growth”.

“What we've done is, it's early days, but we've asked at least one local expert to do a very short, but very structured presentation,” Cara says.

“So essentially you arrive, have a glass of wine, mix and mingle, and then we run a little half-hour session, and it gives you an opportunity afterwards to talk one-on-one with that expert, or just connect with some of the other people in the room,” Cara says.

Being able to showcase local talent and help businesses at the same time is a win-win.

“It just means that they might connect up with someone they wouldn't otherwise know about. We're a super ‘word of mouth’ town. So word of mouth means we know what we know, and we don't know what we don't know.”

Cara says in the seven years they have been running the Hive, there have been “sporadic attempts” to get business networking going.

“If you're new to town or you're a tiny business, often you feel like you don't belong in that kind of formal business setting, so this is super informal and really designed to give you a bit of that like-minded interaction time.”

There is no pressure, people don’t need business cards, they don't have to shake everyone's hands, she says.

“There's no working the room, it's not that kind of event, but hopefully it gives us something to talk about - the sorts of things we have in common.”

For future events, Cara says she and Alex have looked at other ideas around the kinds of tools business owners need - including physical and mental well-being.

“Because they’re all the same sort of shared problems, you know?”

They are always keen to hear from people who think they can help “put a lens on” potential issues and offer solutions.

“So we're looking for those shared pain points for those little businesses. And I mean, it doesn't matter what kind of business.

“You could be in retail, you could be in services, hospitality . . . we're all sharing the same kind of obligations and burdens, but also, we're all interested if the market's lifting, if people are starting to come out and spend money . . . it all impacts on all of us.”

Feedback from the first event was great, Cara says.

“People really enjoyed it and got a lot of use out of it, I think. I think they liked the informal-ness of it . . . There’s no special catering. We’re talking chips and nuts and stuff, cos’ we’re done by 7pm.”

It is appreciated if people RSVP so Alex knows how much wine and beer to get, she says.

“But honestly, even if you don't, and you're passing through, pop your nose in. It could be great.”

The evening begins at 5.15pm and is finished by 7pm.