Leave your name and number on the Contact page and let me know a good time to call. That is it. No long forms to fill in, no emails to write. We will have a free 30-minute conversation where I ask questions about your business, what is working, what is not, and where you want to be. From there I will send you a clear proposal within a week if there is a good fit. You are under no obligation and there is no cost for the initial conversation.

Every engagement is different so I do not publish a standard rate card. After our initial conversation I will send you a clear proposal with the investment required. No surprises and no lock-in contracts. The investment depends on the scope of work, how long the engagement runs, and what kind of support you need.

It varies. Some clients come to me for a specific project that takes a few weeks. Others bring me in for ongoing monthly support that runs for a year or more. Most start with one focused area and expand from there as we get results. You are never locked into a long term commitment upfront. Every engagement starts with a conversation and a clear proposal before anything is agreed.

I am based in Port Stephens in the Hunter Region of NSW. I work with clients across the Hunter Region, Newcastle, Maitland, and Australia wide, both in person and remotely. I also work internationally when needed. If you are in regional NSW and looking for someone who genuinely understands the local business landscape, I am here.

Tourism, trades, professional services, hospitality, and online retail. My background is in tourism but the core challenges are the same across every industry. How do you grow sustainably, how do you build systems that scale, how do you reach new customers, and how do you make the day to day less chaotic. I have helped a mechanical workshop prepare for sale, an accounting firm triple their website enquiries, trades businesses streamline their administration, and tourism operators get trade-ready for domestic and international markets. The industry changes. The fundamentals do not.

Absolutely. My background is in tourism but EDL Consulting works across industries. Business development, systems improvement, trade readiness, and growth strategy are not tourism-specific skills. They are business skills that apply everywhere. I have worked with trades businesses, professional services firms, hospitality operators, and retail businesses across the Hunter Region and beyond. If you run a small business and need practical hands-on support, get in touch regardless of your industry.

The right consultant does not just give you advice and leave. They work alongside you to identify what is holding your business back, create a clear plan to fix it, and then help you implement that plan. For small businesses the biggest benefit is having someone with broad experience and outside perspective who can see things you cannot see when you are deep inside the day to day. I have helped businesses increase their revenue, get trade-ready for domestic and international markets, streamline chaotic operations, and prepare for sale. The difference between a good consultant and a great one is whether they actually do the work with you or just tell you what to do.

It depends entirely on what the business needs. On any given day I might be reviewing a client's systems and documenting their processes, preparing a trade readiness report, representing a business at an industry meeting, rewriting a website to improve enquiries, building a distribution strategy, or helping an operator prepare their tourism award submission. The work is practical and hands-on, not theoretical. I do not write reports that sit in drawers. I work on the things that actually move the needle.

If any of these sound familiar, the answer is probably yes. Your business feels chaotic and you are constantly putting out fires. You know you need to grow but you are not sure where to start. You have tried a few things but nothing seems to stick. You are too busy working in the business to work on it. You want to expand into new markets but do not know how. You do not need to have it figured out before you call me. Most of my clients start with a vague sense that something needs to change. We figure out what that is together.

The first thing is to understand why growth has stalled before trying to fix it. There are usually three culprits. Either you have reached the limits of your current marketing and distribution, meaning you need to open new channels. Or your operations are too chaotic to handle more growth, meaning systems need to come first. Or your product or service offering is not differentiated enough to compete effectively, meaning strategy needs attention. I start every engagement with a proper diagnostic before recommending anything. The worst thing you can do when growth stalls is throw money at marketing when the real problem is something else entirely.

The starting point is always the same. Map out what is actually happening in the business, not what you think is happening. Most small business owners are surprised when they do this properly. You find duplicated effort, missing handovers, tasks that fall through the cracks, and processes that exist only in one person's head. From there we document what the right process should look like, implement any tools or systems that help, and train the team on the new way of working. The goal is a business that runs consistently whether you are there or not. I have done this work across tourism, trades, hospitality, and professional services businesses and the results are usually visible within weeks.

Buyers pay more for businesses that are well documented, systematised, and not dependent on any one person. The preparation process involves cleaning up your financials, documenting your processes and systems, building a clear picture of your customer base and revenue streams, and making sure the business can operate without you in the day to day. This is work that takes time, typically six to twelve months before you want to go to market. Starting early gives you the best possible outcome. I have helped business owners go through this process and the businesses that are properly prepared attract stronger offers and sell faster.

I may be biased but I will let my background speak for itself. I am Elyss Larkham, founder of EDL Consulting, based in Port Stephens in the Hunter Region. I have over 20 years of hands-on experience in business development, tourism sales and operations, trade readiness, and systems improvement. I sit on the board of the NSW Tourism Association, serve as Lead Judge for the NSW North Coast Tourism Awards, and judge the NSW Tourism Awards. I work with a small number of clients at a time because I believe in doing the work properly. If you are looking for a business development consultant in the Hunter Region who actually rolls up their sleeves and does the work, I would love to have a conversation.

EDL Consulting is based in Port Stephens in the Hunter Region and works with small businesses across the region including Newcastle, Maitland, and the broader Hunter Valley. I offer hands-on business development support across tourism, trades, professional services, hospitality, and retail. If you are looking for practical help rather than theoretical advice, leave your name and number on the Contact page and let me know a good time to call.

Absolutely. The skills that make someone effective in tourism consulting translate directly to any small business. Distribution strategy, systems improvement, business development, partnership building, and market entry are not tourism-specific skills. They are business skills. I have applied them successfully in mechanical workshops, accounting firms, trades businesses, and professional services companies. The industry context changes. The approach does not.

Trade readiness means your business is properly set up to work with travel agents, wholesalers, online travel agencies, and inbound tour operators. These are the distribution channels that send bookings your way from markets you could never reach on your own. A trade-ready business has the right commission structures, the right product information, the right agreements in place, and a clear understanding of what the trade expects. If you are a tourism business that wants to grow beyond direct bookings, trade readiness is not optional. I have spent over 20 years building and managing these relationships and I know exactly what operators need to have in place before they approach the trade.

Getting trade-ready involves several practical steps. First, your product needs to be clearly defined and priced with a commission structure that works for agents and wholesalers, typically between 20 and 30 percent net rate. Second, you need professional product information including images, descriptions, booking terms, and cancellation policies. Third, you need to understand which distribution channels are right for your product, whether that is domestic wholesalers, inbound tour operators, online travel agencies, or a combination. Fourth, you need to build relationships with the right people in the trade. This takes time and usually benefits from having someone who already knows the right contacts. I have spent over 20 years doing exactly this and can guide you through every step or manage the process for you.

You need to approach the right wholesalers and inbound tour operators for your product type and target market. Each one has different requirements for product information, net rates, booking systems, and terms and conditions. The process involves identifying the right partners, preparing a professional product submission, negotiating terms, and following up consistently. It is relationship-based work that takes time. Having someone who already has existing relationships in the trade makes the process significantly faster. I have been building these relationships for over 20 years and can open doors that would otherwise take years to open on your own.

Operational efficiency in tourism and hospitality usually comes down to three areas. Staffing and rostering, booking and reservation management, and the handover of information between your team. The most common problems I see are processes that exist only in the owner's head, booking systems that do not talk to each other, and staff who do not have clear documented instructions for how things should be done. The fix involves documenting your core processes, reviewing your systems to make sure they are the right tools for your operation, and training your team consistently. I have worked inside tourism and hospitality businesses at operations level and understand the specific challenges of seasonal demand, variable staffing, and the pressure of live guest experiences.

Yes, where there is no conflict of interest. I judge the NSW Tourism Awards and the NSW North Coast Tourism Awards, so I have an exceptionally clear understanding of what makes a strong submission and where most businesses fall short. I am transparent about any conflicts and will always tell you upfront if I cannot help with a specific award. Where I can help, you will be working with someone who knows exactly what the judging panel is looking for.

I have judged the NSW Tourism Awards and the NSW North Coast Tourism Awards across multiple years so I can answer this from direct experience. The submissions that stand out share three things. They answer the questions that are actually asked rather than the questions the applicant wishes were asked. They provide specific evidence of results rather than general statements about quality. And they tell a clear story about what makes the business genuinely different rather than listing features that every competitor could also claim. Most submissions fail not because the business is not good enough but because the story is not told well enough. The evidence is there, it is just not presented in a way that makes the judges' job easy.

EDL Consulting works with tourism businesses across NSW and Australia wide. I am based in Port Stephens in the Hunter Region and bring over 20 years of hands-on experience in tourism sales, marketing, operations, and trade readiness. Whether you are in the Hunter Region, Newcastle, Sydney, or regional NSW, I can help you grow your tourism business, get trade-ready, improve your operations, or develop new markets. Leave your name and number on the Contact page and let me know a good time to call.