#7 - Enhancing Local Ties Through Digital Innovation with Mitch Toner

Curious about how technology can reshape your local business landscape? Join me, Leon Goltsman, and our enlightening guest, Mitch Toner of Elaris Technologies, as we unlock the secrets to leveraging tech for community growth and personal connections.

Mitch shares his nuanced understanding of businesses' unique challenges when transitioning from more extensive corporate settings to regional areas. Discover practical strategies to enhance productivity and work-life balance, highlighted by a real-world transformation. Mitch's people-centred approach ensures that technology isn't just a tool but a conduit for building trust and saving resources.

We also delve into the intersection of technology and community-building. Fresh off an Excellence Award from the BX Networkemphasisesphasises the irreplaceable value of human interaction in today's AI-driven world. Listen to heartwarming stories about how small businesses, like a local chemist, use digital tools to amplify customer service and satisfaction.

Get inspired by upcoming conversations with community leaders, including voices from Derby Street Pharmacy and other local heroes whose stories promise to enrenergise and energise your perspective on community engagement. Join us for an episode that celebrates the power of collaboration and the promise of future innovations.

Reach out to Mitch for more info here: www.elaris.com.au

Chapters

• 0:01 Leveraging Technology for Local Business
• 15:04 Building Connections With Technology and Community
• 25:57 Connecting With Local Community Leaders

Transcript

Leon Goltsman: 0:01

Good morning, good afternoon or good evening, wherever you are. Welcome back to another exciting episode of Engaging Conversations, proudly brought to you by Lake Mac Business Focus. I'm your host, Leon Goltsman, co-founder of Ecolibrium Headquarters, and today we've got an episode that's all about tech business and making sure your systems work when you need them most. Joining us is Mitch Toner, a local business owner from right here in Lake Macquarie and the driving force behind Elaris Technologies. Mitch and his team specialize in keeping your tech with AI becoming such a huge trend, Mitch sees the value but also believes nothing beats connecting with people in person running smoothly and helping you rethink how you're using it, especially when it comes to building a solid customer service base. After all, technology is amazing, that is until it stops working right. That's when Mitch and his team come in, ensuring everything runs like clockwork. So, without further ado, let's dive in and hear what Mitch has to share with us.

Mitch Toner: 1:15

Thank you, Leon. My name is Mitch O'Connor and my company is Alaris Technologies. And a little bit about me. I live in the gorgeous suburb of Mount Hutton, which is just positioned between Charlestown and Walnars Bay in the Lake Macquarie region, and I own my company, Alaris Technologies. My perspective of helping local businesses thrive comes from my service-based model.

Leon Goltsman: 1:38

And you have been working with small businesses for a very long time, mitch, how important do you think it is to establish a know, like and trust relationship with local business owners?

Mitch Toner: 1:49

Establishing a know like, trust relationship with customers and anybody across the broader business community is so important to me and it's always the first place I start. My principles of know like and trust have really guided my leadership at Alaris Technologies, by starting with a people-centered approach. It's always so important for me to have that relationship with my clients so that they can really get down to the root cause of their problems.

Leon Goltsman: 2:16

And what motivates you to continue working with local and regional businesses, mitch, is there any particular success story or moment that stands out to you as a reminder of why you do what you do?

Mitch Toner: 2:28

Yeah, absolutely. I love supporting local businesses and it's so important for me to be able to uplift them and provide a level of enthusiasm with my support as well. Lots of clients when they reach me, it's because they're going through a tough time and they may need a change in one way or another, whether that's things are broken or things aren't performing as well as they want them to. What I've seen is a large trend of business owners who are leaving the corporate space where they've been accustomed to having that professional help desk and have found it hard to find that same level of support on a local basis, and so for me it's been so important to stay local and to deliver that for my clients.

Leon Goltsman: 3:14

And you mentioned that communication is key for business success, especially for small teams. How do you see technology improving communication within teams, between businesses and their communities?

Mitch Toner: 3:27

It's so important to get the technology right when you're communicating in small teams, and the most important thing that I see is to make it smoother and make it more efficient, so that we're no longer spending more time trying to explain what we're doing. We're actually spending more time doing the task, and I'll give you an example here as well. I worked with a law firm actually in Canberra, and the principal of this firm would always delegate tasks to his staff, and the way he did it was via email. He would just send them the task description as a subject, with no context. The communication wasn't effective, and what I saw in that team was an opportunity to get everybody on the same page, and that was a real big key there, because we didn't actually have to sell them any new technology, we just helped them rethink it.

Leon Goltsman: 4:21

And that probably would have saved them a lot of time and money and, most of all, effort and frustration.

Mitch Toner: 4:26

Most definitely, and you know what's good about that too, is the systems that I build have reports in them as well, so we can actually measure the effectiveness of their communication. A lot of the times I'd start with an engagement and we start to see the numbers that exist in the system and it really shines a light on different ways that we can improve and iterate their processes.

Leon Goltsman: 4:48

Many small businesses in regional areas face unique challenges. How can they leverage technology to build stronger relationships within their local communities?

Mitch Toner: 4:59

So something we're seeing a lot of now is distributed working models. It's been a big trend coming through after COVID, where people are no longer going to their offices, and so this has created a massive demand in the technology to be more adaptable, to be more nimble, to be with you wherever you go. For our regional communities, this is so important because they no longer need to go to their major cities to get what they need to do, to get what they need. We have now set them up in a way that they can be in gunnedah, they can be in bingara and they can have all access to all of the same tools that you could have if you're in sydney or melbourne so this is great.

Leon Goltsman: 5:42

So this is why we're seeing more and more people moving up to Lake Macquarie and other regional parts of New South Wales or Australia for that matter because technically they could do their work wherever they are.

Mitch Toner: 5:56

Yeah, most definitely. And off the back of the last question, being able to report on that we can actually show that sometimes it's more effective to be working remote, and to provide a business owner with the confidence that their staff are still being effective while they can't see them is a massive advantage to these regional communities and spending more time with their families, which is obviously good for people's mental health and well-being most definitely, and you know, we even see that too with well-being trackers.

Mitch Toner: 6:27

we can integrate lots of different technology to build in breaks of your day and if you are working from home, there are ways to collaborate remotely as well. So, even things like a whiteboard, you can now collaborate over teams or Zoom. There's multiple different platforms that you can use, and there's not necessarily the best one. It's about which one works best for you in your situation, and the way I've set up Alaris Technologies is that I'm truly independent and I don't have a preference to any one provider. I can provide the best solution for you with your client-centric approach. Technology is so important in enhancing the relationships between businesses and their local communities by helping everybody understand each other better. And with everything being online now everything's digital we can so very quickly stay up to date with what's happening in the community.

Leon Goltsman: 7:26

And certainly there's a lot of apps out there, like the neighborhood apps, that a lot of people are finding information, and I'm not just going to say social media, because people are getting their information from all sorts of different platforms, even council websites, keeping people updated. How do you see people who try and understand what's happening in their communities without the access of technology? I mean what happens in that particular case.

Mitch Toner: 7:53

Yeah, these people can really fall behind and if they don't stay up to date with what's happening. You know, even most recently in Musselbrook we had an earthquake. It was 4.5. It was quite high and the response to that happened very quickly as a result of having the right technology in place. Everybody was very quickly up to date and had an action plan for a severe event and I think for the people who didn't have access to that technology weren't able to respond as well as they could have.

Leon Goltsman: 8:29

So it's just little things like that, because, especially for seniors and we know that's regional parts of Australia do have an aging population and those that aren't up to date with technology certainly do get left behind, don't they?

Mitch Toner: 8:44

Most definitely, and even the six o'clock news run doesn't quite cover it anymore. So it's so important to stay up to date through the day and it's so important to stay connected and have that assurance from a local provider that you're going to stay online and that the service is reliable and, during those times when you need it the most, that it's going to be there for you.

Leon Goltsman: 9:04

So when looking for a local provider and we know the importance of it, whether it's an air conditioning supplier or just somebody who's a plumber you want somebody who's local, who's going to attend to your needs. But when it comes to computers and when it comes to technology, what advice would you recommend to people looking for someone who's reliable?

Mitch Toner: 9:25

It's so important to have a relationship with your provider that is built on know, like and trust, and you need to know that they are dependable. So go back to the old school methods who do you know? Who do they know? Do you have any friends with friends in IT? Can you get started with a conversation? Any friends with friends in IT Can you get started with a conversation?

Mitch Toner: 9:47

Often, when you are down and the systems are offline, there'll be providers who you can call who will get you out of trouble. But in my experience I've seen local businesses fall into traps here where they haven't built a relationship with their provider and when they need help, they go to the first person who will give it to them and that's not always driving them towards the best outcomes. And the other thing is the reputation of your provider. Who do they know? Who have they worked with and what do their clients say about them? It's so important these days to have a personal relationship with your provider, because so much of what we do in business now is personal. It's so important now to check that person's reviews. Go onto their website, see what their clients are saying about them. Do they have a LinkedIn profile? Are they on Facebook. Are they active? Are they engaging? Are they doing all the right things for their community that's going to help you? And how long have they been in business?

Leon Goltsman: 10:39

for One question I like to ask is what are some common misconceptions that local businesses have about technology? How can you address these misconceptions to help them connect better with their customers?

Mitch Toner: 10:53

probably one of the biggest misconceptions that I see is that it's all really expensive and that it's going to take a lot of effort to make it effective.

Mitch Toner: 11:02

It's just not necessarily the case anymore and there's a lot of cheap services that you can buy that are effective. Most of the time, I find it's about how are they being applied in the business. And coming back to the earlier question is how do we help people through that process? And it's about understanding the people first and how they're actually interacting with the technology. And one of the main misconceptions I see is that maybe I can do it myself, but it's so important to have that conversation with your provider to understand where are your blind spots and what could you possibly be missing that can save you so much time through your week, and maybe there's one piece of technology we can introduce that reshapes your business. And another common misconception that I see is having that fear of complexity and cost, and what I like to show people is that it can actually be quite simple and it doesn't take a lot to make a real difference to your technology.

Leon Goltsman: 12:04

When you say real difference, what do you mean? So?

Mitch Toner: 12:07

those problems that you come across through the week that you may choose to ignore, and those problems where you think, oh, I'll just work around. That Biggest piece of advice is if there's a pain point that keeps recurring, don't let a match fire turn into a bushfire.

Leon Goltsman: 12:27

And for the businesses, especially the local and regional businesses. What are the key benefits of having the right technology in place, beyond just improving internal operations?

Mitch Toner: 12:37

There's a range of different benefits of having the right technology in place, beyond just improving internal operations. There's a range of different benefits of having the right technology in place, not only to improve your internal operations, but to enhance your brand perception as well. After working with my clients, you can walk into the office and it feels different because they're using technology that they're comfortable with, that they've been trained on, that they know is there for a reason and it has a purpose. There is a lot of intangible benefits to having the right technology in place, not only to improve your internal operations, but to increase your brand perception, help you connect with the right clients, increase your brand perception.

Leon Goltsman: 13:16

Help you connect with the right clients, and can you just give me an example of what the technology actually looks like? What technology are we talking about?

Mitch Toner: 13:29

So the technology that we're talking about is a collaborative suite. A lot of the times it's going to be either Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. Most businesses run on either one of those, and there's a series of attachments that you can integrate with your collaboration suite, so that may be an inbound phone system that brings in phone calls and distributes them to your staff, whether they're present in the office, whether they're remote or on the road, whether they're present in the office, whether they're remote or on the road. All of these systems can be integrated together to create one cohesive experience for your users.

Leon Goltsman: 14:05

Okay, so we're obviously talking about businesses and operators, but what about if you're just a mum or a dad, whether you're working from home, or whether you just don't want to work and you want to take the day off, but you still want to enjoy your technology at home? How could that be useful for them?

Mitch Toner: 14:23

To have the right technology at home is important as well, for many different reasons. As you know, lots of people are working from home these days, but they're also building families there, so there are lots of great companies. However, with Alaris, our main strength is that we provide that level of personalized support for our local community and we've got that knowledge of what works best for you in your environment. It's not about having the brand name on the door that has all of the accolades. It's much more about connecting with you and understanding your problem and with our business network. I've been so thankful to be acknowledged for that with the BX Business.

Leon Goltsman: 15:04

Awards, and you know I see quite a few people getting awards for different things. Tell us a little bit about what that award actually means. I mean, what was that? An excellence award or something?

Mitch Toner: 15:17

Yeah, that's right, it was an excellence award and the BX Network is one that spans across Australia, so there were multiple categories that were presented awards and I was in the category for business services, so it was quite an honour to actually be up on stage and to be a part of that category.

Leon Goltsman: 15:35

And you certainly had a lot of competition, I bet. Oh, absolutely so. It does show that other people feel the same way, and it's not always what we say about ourselves. It's what others say about us that matters, and receiving an Excellence Award like that speaks volumes. Well done, mitch, thanks Leon. Award like that speaks volumes. Well done, mitch, thanks Leon. Now we've seen different trends in technology that sometimes is unpredictable. What do you think are the most important for business owners to be aware of as they look to grow and engage more deeply with their local communities?

Mitch Toner: 16:14

The biggest trend by far at the moment is AI. Everybody is talking about AI, and with any trend there's lots of positives and there's lots of negatives. I know personally. I've seen lots of pretty cringeworthy uses of AI, and so to just stay informed with what's happening in the industry, you know there's lots of great ways to stay connected, and technology is one of those. So AI is a major trend that we see branching out into all different kinds of industries, from marketing, sales, to then also accounting and even law.

Mitch Toner: 16:53

It's pretty much everywhere at this stage, and it's been really interesting to see the adoption of AI, and I think, while most people gain a lot from AI, there's such an advantage to having an in-person conversation, and what I loved about one of your first books that I read was it taught me how to have that engaging conversation and to leave it in a graceful way, and it was that human element that I knew I couldn't get from the technology. It taught me how to have that engaging conversation and to leave it in a graceful way, and it was that human element that I knew I couldn't get from the technology.

Leon Goltsman: 17:24

So I'm actually quite looking forward to your new book that's coming out soon. I'm looking forward to it as well. I've just got to finish writing it, but we are getting there. We are getting there, thank you. Thank you, mitch, for the compliment. As what you've said earlier about talking to people, everything starts with a conversation, and whether it's digital technology or whether it's going paying a visit to your doctor, it's really about human interaction, and I think AI, no matter how sophisticated or advanced it's going to be, I still believe that human interaction wins hands down.

Mitch Toner: 18:05

Most definitely, and while we've seen the evolution of AI, it's been such a joy to come back to the human element and to connect with real people and to make those friendships.

Leon Goltsman: 18:17

Agree 100%. On another note how can small businesses collaborate with one another using technology to create a more connected and resilient local economy?

Mitch Toner: 18:29

So local businesses can help each other by collaborating and strengthening the relationships, by creating opportunities for each other with technology, and we see lots of co-branding and collaborations in that space where people are now doing combined offerings, where if you're at the cafe, you can then go and get a discount at the hairdresser, and so you know, we are seeing so much technology that can be carried between businesses. Now you might be at a concert and you want to buy a shirt, and that's not going to be a challenge for you if you don't have cash, because, boom, the technology is there and it works. So that type of environment where you can take it anywhere with you is something that can help stimulate the economic growth for a region. And especially on the weekends we have festivals here all the time down at Spears Point Park at Warners Bay, elibana, and it's so amazing to see these market stallholders bringing their technology with them and operating from the park because they can and because the strength of these businesses is really what grows our community.

Leon Goltsman: 19:43

Well, and they're connected. So I can see what you're talking about, mitch, because the other day I walked into a chemist and I've never been to this chemist. It was in Newcastle and I will give them a plug Darby Street Chemist. They're very good, independent. I walked in. The service was just second to none. You know, the staff were just so kind and so warm, just such good energy. Even though I had a bit of a cold and I still do I walked out of there feeling uplifted.

Leon Goltsman: 20:14

I felt that there were people there who actually cared, that it wasn't just about taking my money and selling me something. It's about providing good advice. So I left, I complimented them and they've given me this little slip, like a little card with a QR code on it, and when I scanned it, it took me to Google review and I gave them a five-star review, of course. But then I also went and connected with them on Facebook and I gave them a five-star review on Facebook as well. And so technology, it's more than just making sales. It's also about keeping customers satisfied, post-sales and building that relationship that you were talking about.

Mitch Toner: 21:00

What do you think about that? That's such an excellent experience that you had and it's so obvious that Derby Street Chemist made a lasting impression with you. Sorry, terry White, you can't beat this local customer service and the QR code is such a great tool now that is helping businesses strengthen their online presence. It's often hard to find the people who can give you those experiences, but with technology and the way that we can now help these people be seen, it's really shining a light on the local heroes who really uplift the community and provide that experience.

Mitch Toner: 21:37

No, definitely I might have to get your connection from the Derby Street Chemist, but no, and it is so important to stay connected on these platforms. As you know, if you look at their reviews and it's five stars and you can see that these local businesses are providing a great service to local customers that they should be the ones we do business with. And for the businesses who don't provide that same level of service to the local customers, they're not getting the same reviews that these people who care are getting. So without technology, it wouldn't have been possible to find those positive experiences that you're looking for.

Leon Goltsman: 22:16

And they're not just one-off reviews, they're consistent. So that's another thing I look out for.

Mitch Toner: 22:22

And every engagement that we have with our clients is so important for that customer satisfaction. There's so much great technology that can measure that customer satisfaction now as well and with AI this has been some of the fantastic evolutions that we're seeing is sentiment analysis. So actually, if you're on a phone call, it can determine the pitch and tonality of your speech. And for sales teams, if you've got a set of, let's say, 15 agents as a manager, you can look at each one of those and say, ok, well, what types of conversations are my agents having with our clients? Are they having positive sentiment conversations? Is it more negative? Positive sentiment conversations Is it more negative?

Mitch Toner: 23:06

And we can also start to pick up on those keywords that are being repeated and maybe leading clients down the wrong path or maybe it's not the right strategic conversation to be having at that time for this person. I believe it's important for any business to embrace the real reason before undertaking a project and with their technology, their team needs to have alignment as to what those outcomes will be. It's so important to understand what makes you happy and to have the technology there to support you to do that. Spend less time fixing your problems and screaming at your computer and spend more time outside in the sun, or with your family, with your children, with your partner, whoever that may be. What we do is we support people to do more of what they enjoy.

Leon Goltsman: 23:53

Mitch, thank you so much for taking the time and coming in and having a chat and sharing some of your experiences. I am certainly now very mindful of my technology, making sure that it's all working, because we know that when things are working well, we don't think about it. It's only when things stop working. That's when we start using very colourful words. So thank you very much and I appreciate your great work and your commitment to helping small businesses. Thank you, leon, and thank you very much, and I appreciate your great work and your commitment to helping small businesses.

Mitch Toner: 24:26

Thank you, leon, and thank you for your opportunity to allow me on this podcast. It's been great and it's been so fun to watch you on your journey. Thank you, and I'm looking forward to making a positive impact on our community together.

Leon Goltsman: 24:42

And thank you, and we've got a fantastic team, and you know we are, we on our community together. And thank you, and we've got a fantastic team, and you know we are, we're doing it together. So, just before I let you go, what is the one piece of advice you'd give to our audience?

Mitch Toner: 24:52

And my one piece of advice I would say is to start networking and meet the people in your community. You don't know what stories they may share that will influence you on your journey and it can make a real difference when you start to have those conversations, and it's through those conversations that we strengthen communities.

Leon Goltsman: 25:14

Mitch, thank you so much for your time and I'm looking forward to catching up with you soon. And with that we wrap up another great episode. A big thank you to Mitch Toner for joining us today and reminding us just how important technology is in both business and our personal lives. When everything runs smoothly, it's about more than just functioning tech. It's about spending more quality time with our families and enjoying the peace of mind that comes when everything just works. If you want to learn more about how Mitch and his team can help, head over to wwwalariscomau or check out the show notes.

Leon Goltsman: 25:57

As for next week, I've got some exciting interviews lined up. I've been meeting with amazing people like John Jones from Derby Street Pharmacy, local tradies, business owners, health workers and family services professionals. One of these inspiring individuals will be joining us on the show sharing their stories and insights. Giving them a platform to speak is what makes my work so rewarding. But honestly, some days I wake up pinching myself that I get to do what I love talking to people who are making a real difference in our communities, one conversation at a time. I'm Leon Goltsman and I can't wait to connect with you again next week. Until next time, stay engaged, stay connected and let's continue making a difference together.