We’ve captured the stories of over 40 Northern Rivers businesses, sharing their experiences and their challenges along with what makes our region special and a great place to be in business. This is a virtual tour of our entrepreneurial landscape from small retailers to global manufacturers, you will love the diversity and triumphs. Celebrate and share through your networks and be part of driving outcomes for business growth in the region.
940 627 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Three generations of style

Scarboroughs
Running a small clothing shop in a country town is a fine art. It requires balance, delicacy and an open mind to serve the needs of locals, tourists, the area’s workers and more.

read more
1920 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Brothers spirit and legacy lives on

J. Notaras & Sons
J. Notaras & Sons owes its existence, strong identity and ongoing success to the dreams of two brothers of Greek ancestry.

read more
2048 1366 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Farmers in the fields

Norco Primex
Bruce Wright has made his career by bringing together and supporting many of the region’s farmers and primary producers.

read more
541 817 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Art of Glass

Tweed Coast Glass
Anyone who lives between the Gold Coast and Ballina with even a passing involvement in the building trade will be familiar with Tweed Coast Glass.

read more
1200 900 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

From cobblestones to all-terrain cranes

Wicks and Parker
Fast approaching 100 years old, the Wicks family business has helped build motorways and carry out emergency bushfire repairs, but it once hammered out steel bands for horse-drawn carriage wheels.

read more
870 652 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Delivering top service, come hospital or high water

McLeans Freight Service
When Leisa Blok’s father, Laurie McLean, began running urgent nighttime blood deliveries from Lismore airport in 1992, he mightn’t have expected the one-man gig to expand into a 50-vehicle courier fleet, delivering across the entire northern NSW region.

read more
940 627 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

A collaborator at heart

Table Under A Tree
Georgina Inwood credits the evolution of her business, Table Under a Tree, to her ability to “take stock while still running at a million miles an hour”.

read more
2560 1709 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Adapting is second nature for first in class

Lazuli and Co.
The hairdresser and business owner, after all, has had a lot to adapt to – her salon is in central Lismore and was destroyed by the February 2022 floods, which also completely engulfed her nearby home. Before that were the ravages wrought by the pandemic.

read more
1440 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

You can judge a book by its cover

Charlie & Fox
When Jess Tunnage’s mother-in-law gave her a sewing machine for Christmas a few years ago, she had no idea how to use it.

read more
2016 1512 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

A planet of business diversity

Tropical Fruit World
It’s been almost 50 years since Robert and Valorie Brinsmead bought the 200-acre farm in Murwillumbah.

read more
2048 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

planting natural beauty

Biologi
There was a little bit of the “weird spirit of Byron Bay” in the 2017 creation of the natural skincare range, Biologi, says co-owner Lucy Macdougald of her chance meeting with Ross Macdougald, who is now both her business partner and husband…

read more
2560 2198 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

following her art’s desires

Bingara Gallery
If she wasn’t painting wild animals and birds, artist Angela Parr, 62, would most likely be rescuing them, healing them, or advocating for them…

read more
1473 828 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Dance call for Kyogle

Ascent Dance
Starting a dance school just five weeks before the onset of a pandemic might have dampened the spirits of some new business owners, but Haylee Holliday took it as a sign that Ascent Dance Studio had to succeed.

read more
2560 1707 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Flexing the entrepreneurial muscle

Summit Sport & Fitness
Like many Northern Rivers businesses, Summit Sport & Fitness has undergone immense change in 2022 – except, rather than being buffeted by floods or pandemic, these changes are positive, and mark a new chapter for owner Matthew George.

read more
2560 1707 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

the power of the win-win-win sustainability approach

ENV Solutions
In less than seven years environmental consultancy ENV Solutions has grown from a one-man band in Ballina to a multi-award winning business with more than 25 staff across three locations…

read more
2560 1750 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

lights, camera, action in ballina shire

Byron Studios
Northern Rivers has long been a hub for film makers and a popular backdrop for film and television productions. But there has been one thing missing to tie it all together…

read more
1644 848 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Community connection runs deep

Connect Business Solutions
Connect Business Solutions can be thought of as the glue that holds a business community together.

read more
2560 2553 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Alternative. Accessible. Affordable.

Nimbin Apothecary
Nimbin Apothecary is a herbal medicine dispensary providing acute over-the-counter consulting for herbal medicine prescriptions.

read more
2560 1707 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Spirit of Byron in a bottle

Cawarra Cosmetics
Cawarra Cosmetics has been a leading manufacturer of Australian skincare, personal care and cleaning products in the region for more than 40 years.

read more
2560 1709 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

putting the business into ‘show business’

Brainstorm Productions
You might think that COVID-19 would rattle a business that delivers educational theatre into schools. But the “show must go on” mentality runs deep for Brainstorm Productions’ founder and artistic director Jenny Johnson…

read more
2500 1667 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

In Ventura we trust

Ventura Brewing
Ventura is a symbol of luck, chance and good fortune – and while Ventura Brewing’s two founders have had a good dose of all three – it’s mostly been a lot of hard work and focus to launch this craft kombucha brewery amid a global pandemic.

read more
2560 1920 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Position, people, poached eggs and a president

Caperberry and Flinders Rose
What makes an entire family move from three different cities to live together in a quiet coastal town? Great coffee.

read more
2048 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

biggy pop sings support for matilda

Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital
In 2020, Iggy Pop received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys; in the same year his pet cockatoo, named Biggy Pop, became the founding patron of Byron Wildlife Hospital…

read more
1123 627 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Townsend taproom breakthrough brews

Sanctus Brewing Co.
When Sanctus Brewing Co. began life in 2019, there was no indication that the brewery would go on to enjoy the immense success it has over the last three years.

read more
1191 893 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

an epic adventure into healing honey

Gather By
Gather By is a closed-loop regenerative agribusiness that works with beekeepers and landholders in NSW and Queensland, and investors around Australia to produce and market rare, pure and potent Australian Manuka honey…

read more
1620 1080 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

From trauma to business transformation

Our Cow
For Casino-based meat providers Our Cow, the last three years have seen remarkable, game-changing growth.

read more
1139 749 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Hovering across the wave of success

Fliteboard
It was meant to be an extended break for David Trewern and his family. A chance to rest and reset in Byron Bay after decades of building and selling fast-growing digital marketing agencies. But as he looked out over Belongil beach in 2014, an idea struck him.

read more
940 627 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

The Natural Rice Co.

The Natural Rice Co.
The Natural Rice Co. (NRC) is a unique enterprise not just in the Northern Rivers, but in a national context too.

read more
1245 933 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

A walk on the wild side

Vision Walks Eco Tours
Wendy Bithell has built her multi-award-winning eco-tourism business, Vision Walks – Eco Tours, by combining her two areas of expertise: ecology and technology. Her Byron hinterland adventures are as diverse as nature walks with night vision goggles, Indigenous bush tucker tours, and three-day women’s indulgence escapes.

read more
1440 1080 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Talking together for 50 years

Jumbunna Community Preschool and Early Intervention Centre
The early childhood sector has played a vital role in supporting communities and families in the Northern Rivers amid the onslaught of challenges in the last three years.

read more
2560 1920 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Step back in time for ‘reel’

Yamba Cinema
Yamba Cinema is not just a popular venue to see the latest movie in an idyllic Northern Rivers town.

read more
1500 2250 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Heart and Soul of a region

Norco Co-operative
Norco has an impressive origin story.

read more
1440 1080 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Generational innovation

Australian Bay Lobster Producers
Thenus australiensis. Moreton Bay bugs. The Bay Lobster. Whatever nomenclature you want to use, there is no doubt that these crustaceans are a much-loved staple of Australian seafood menus.

read more
1360 906 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Casino RSM Club

Casino RSM Club
The 23 of March 2020 was the hardest day of Neale Genge’s career.

read more
2560 1723 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Nurtured by nature

Greenx7
For the past 10 years GreenX7 has been running workshops and retreats internationally and in the Tweed for clients as diverse as McDonald’s, Deloitte, Six Senses, and the Australian Defence Force, to inspire both individuals and teams to tap into the healing power of nature.

read more
1706 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Keeping it real in the Tweed

Tweed Real Food
Tweed Real Food is a business launched in 2018 from a desire to be resilient. Little did founder Julia Foyster know how prescient her plan would turn out to be.

read more
1947 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Feeding Pets with a Passion for Purpose

Frontier Pets
Diana Scott was more than a bit annoyed at being unable to find a premium quality food for her dogs that was also ethically produced, so she did what all great entrepreneurs do – she created it.

read more
768 1024 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Clean green superfood team

Foods That Love You Back
Health activist Erle Astrup founded Foods That Love You Back in January 2021, and her business – which has created the world’s first affordable, alkaline shot of concentrated microgreens – is infused with the passion she has for driving it.

read more
2048 1260 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

A community cornerstone bouncing forward

Coraki Post Office
For all that has been thrown at the small town of Coraki in recent times, the owners of the town’s post office are rolling with the punches.

read more
2560 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Creativity takes flight

Honey Hunt Style
Jules Hunt moved to Byron Bay with her family 15 years ago because she wanted to raise her children with a strong sense of community. It was by chance that this move led to the flourishing of her artistic career – and more recently to her turn as a successful business woman.

read more
2400 1350 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Passion, patience and protein

Hemp Foods Australia
When Hemp Foods Australia founder, Paul Benhaim, discovered hemp as a food choice in the early 90s during his global travels, he had his own preconceived ideas.

read more
957 1277 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Cool to be kind and cans it

The Kind Coffee Co.
The KIND Coffee Co, reflects its name in everything it does.

read more
2560 1707 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

The dream team

Joel Jensen Constructions
Despite the pressures of running an award-winning construction company, there’s one thing Joel Jensen strives to do every day.

read more
940 627 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

A hive of success and support

Wild Honey Creative
Wild Honey Creative is living proof that special skills and services we might once have associated with our cities – such as graphic and digital design, innovation in marketing and brand storytelling – are thriving in regional areas.

read more
2560 1600 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Spoiled stays for special pets

Skye Park Pet Resort
In 2014, a long-held aspiration finally came to fruition for Helen and Ian MacGregor when they purchased an existing pet boarding facility in bucolic Clarenza, with the dream of making it their own.

read more
768 1024 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

A fighting spirit … and great networks

Five Sixty Farms
Stranded on the roof of his house with his wife and their eight children, Pepe Fassos watched helplessly as his beloved greenhouses smashed and floated away in a tsunami of floodwater.

read more
1500 562 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

It was time the level the paying field

Zepto
What do you do next after more than a decade building up a Byron Bay skydiving business to become a national success and then stepping back after listing it on the Australian Stock Exchange?

read more
X