LOCAL BUSINESS SUCCESS: RANGER NICK announced as a WINNER in the 2023 Australian Rural Business Awards

Ranger Nick has been announced as a winner for the Innovation and Sustainability Excellence Award at the annual Australian Rural Business Awards on the 23rd June, 2023.

The Australian Rural Business Awards are presented by Australia’s leading online marketplace for rural and regional small businesses Spend With Us to celebrate, highlight and recognise the absolute talent that exists out there in rural and regional Australia.

Highlighting, in an Australian Rural Business Awards, what small businesses in rural/ regional Australia are achieving in business excellence, innovation and sustainability, new business, Australian made and e-commerce. The awards are designed to recognise the strength, resilience, and talent of small business owners in rural and regional areas who have, in the last few years alone, gone through droughts, bushfres, mouse plagues, foods, lack of tourism, a global pandemic and rising costs of living.

Ranger Nick says he is extremely excited to be named as a winner of the Innovation and Sustainability Excellence Award. “I am just over the moon and feel enormously fattered to be bringing home a trophy. It’s beyond my wildest dreams, frst the nomination and now the winner. All the hard work, challenges and dedication to buy local and encouraging environmental sustainability over the past decade has fnally paid off. It makes me ever so grateful to all my supporters.”

Raised in the scrubs of South West Queensland, Ranger Nick has been exposed to living in the bush his entire life and was working as an environmental education support offcer and Ranger Guide in outback Queensland. When he was approached by a large Outdoor Expo company to perform camp oven cooking demonstrations, he did not have to think twice to do what comes naturally to him.

Since 2010, Ranger Nick has been demonstrating camp oven and bush cooking skills professionally, travelling the country and abroad. Successfully claiming the Guinness World Record title for the Longest Damper at 153.002m, Ranger Nick is the resident Bush Cook on Channel 7 Mate’s “Step Outside with Paul Burt”, has weekly radio segments on “West Bremer Radio”, monthly podcast interviews, is the author of four books, has released a DVD, developed a comprehensive Outdoor Training Program and frequently gets invited to judge at large camp oven cooking competitions. He has provided cooking demonstrations at camping & 4WD shows, large-scale corporate events, and various festivals nationally and internationally over the past decade plus.

The opportunity to travel extensively and passing on the knowledge to fellow adventurers is inspiring in itself and strengthened by the encouragement of supporters and followers, it keeps Ranger Nick going and excited about life, hence making a positive impact on others.

Delighted to be named a fnalist, Ranger Nick is proud of his achievements, particularly when he was approached by Channel 7 Mate and is now featured as the resident bush cook on “Step Outside with Paul Burt”. The strong environmental focus of Ranger Nick’s message is in line with keeping Australian heritage and traditions alive. Ranger Nick was nominated in the 2023 Australian Small Business Champion Awards and with over 4500 quality entries, has been recognised as a fnalist in the environmental category.

It can be challenging to be a successful small business in rural and regional Australia, and community plays an enormous part in that success. Ranger Nick believes that community has played a large part in his business challenges in competing with big corporations, hence a point of difference has to be established that ensures a beneft to the customer and the community at large.

The founders of Spend With Us, Jenn Donovan and Sarah Britz have success where good old-fashioned customer service is refected in personal relationships and supporting each other. It can be tight knit, where word of mouth referrals are still the main source of advertising. A good reputation and ethical values are crucial to the survival of any business, and more so in a rural community, where residents rely on each other. Without support of the community, a small business will face been overwhelmed by the response to the awards and are so excited to see how many businesses have been involved.

“There is nothing that gives us greater joy than seeing businesses from the bush succeed and to see their passion and determination shine through. We’re also so thankful to our amazing sponsors who have also been inspired by many of our winners journeys”, says Donovan and Britz.