This component of the website awaits development.
It proposes to offer potential subscribers a web presence from a single page advertisement to a complete website for a very low annual subscription. It allows small businesses in a pool of other small businesses to have a web presence when a full website might be hard to justify. The Directory would offer a search capacity or subscribers could also be found by browsing through categories.
In 2007 Otway Business Inc., an organisation representing the interests of Colac businesses, expressed interest in supporting the website, with particular interest in this online Trade Directory concept. After a fair bit of stuffing around they lost interest. One reason given was that the Colac Otway shire was proposing to set up a similar online database. This hasn't happened, so the idea remains dormant.
I believe the idea still has some merit but I would need to know that it had enough support to make it work. Such a site needs a critical mass to work, and will require a fair bit of time and legwork to establish, so I am not interested in proceeding until that I feel that enough support would be forthcoming.
If you are interested in some involvement in such a scheme please use the form on the 'Contact Us' page to discuss your ideas.
Two other attempts at a Colac trade directory have been made and mostly through ineffective execution have got nowhere. One is operated by the publisher of the Colac Otway Directory and at last viewing contains events listings that haven't been updated for almost two years. The Directory itself, while calling itself the 'Regional Friendly Directory' is not exactly community friendly ... I approached its publisher some years ago to design (to a much higher standard than present) the work as well as having it printed locally and was firmly knocked back. The directory promotes a non-existent web design business which is actually registered in Auckland, New Zealand, so efforts to involve the directory locally, despite the Colac Otway Shire's support, are non-existent.
Such a venture should be seen to make some effort to support local businesses (rather than just taking their advertising revenue), such as book designers (like myself) and printers (such as Printworks), and promote one of several web design businesses located in the Shire. Enough said I think.