Turning the Tide: A Regional Perspective on Turnaround Strategy

4 days ago

6 min read

In towns like Denmark and Albany, Western Australia, the winds don’t just carry the salt of the Southern Ocean—they carry whispers of potential, frustration, gossip, and dreams half-acted on. You hear it walking down Strickland Street. You hear it in the silence of a half-full café in the middle of what should be peak tourist season. You hear it when another young person moves to Perth for “opportunity.”

This region isn’t short on talent. It’s short on aligned, courageous, ruthless strategy.

What is a Turnaround Strategy?

At its core, a turnaround strategy is about reversing a declining trajectory. It often requires courageous leadership, financial restructuring, cultural reset, and—perhaps most difficult—a willingness to challenge sacred cows.

A true turnaround isn’t just about plugging leaks or cost-cutting. It’s about restoring confidence. Rebuilding belief. And crafting a path forward that people can buy into.

In a small regional context, this kind of work has unique challenges. Everyone knows everyone. Memories are long. Trust is currency. And gossip travels faster than 5G.

Turnaround is what happens when people stop talking and start dragging broken things back into motion. It’s vision + grit + momentum. It’s financial overhaul. Cultural detonation. Strategic storytelling. And relentless execution.

Done right? It doesn’t just save a business. It revives a street. A town. A narrative.

Title: The turnaround — Title: *The turnaround*

Why Denmark and Albany Need It

Denmark: a place with world-class nature, talent, rich soil, and some of the most creative minds you’ll meet—but somehow still scared of its own ambition.

Albany: historically rich, commercially capable, but often gridlocked by its own legacy systems and leadership that can’t align.

You know the signs:

Shops changing hands every 12-24 months
Cafés doing 7-day weeks for 4 customers at 3pm
Council plans that never touch real community problems
Locals talking big, doing small

We don’t need another committee. We need a turnaround.

The Real Playbook (No MBA Required)

Here’s how we turn it around.

1. Burn the Denial. Build Urgency. Then Rally Believers.

No one moves until the pain is undeniable. You want change? Show the blood.

Expose the rot in plain sight.
Host the brutally honest town hall.
Stop protecting the old guard.
Draw a line: “This is where we’re headed. Who’s coming?”

2. Flip Town Hall from Admin to Activator

Here’s a hard truth: Many regional councils were built for maintenance, not momentum. Their default mode is risk aversion. But in a world that’s moving faster than ever, towns can’t afford to coast.

Turnaround means shifting from:

Compliance mindsets → Strategic thinking
Grant-dependence → Local revenue innovation
Slow policy cycles → Agile experiments

Local governments should act more like venture capital firms: investing in ideas, backing leaders, and sunsetting failed initiatives without political baggage.

For example, a local government might:

Partner with private enterprise to build a co-working hub in an underutilised building
Use crowdfunding for community-backed placemaking projects
Run accelerator-style “pitch nights” for local tourism and business concepts

These aren’t pipe dreams. They’re already happening in forward-thinking councils across Australia.

So, turn your local government into a startup lab:

Appoint a “Head of Momentum.” Give them power.
Kill paper trails. Go digital, mobile, fast.
Scrap committees. Form task forces.

What this looks like: Albany sets up a “Town Shaper” team—3 council staff + 3 entrepreneurs + 1 investor. Their job? Launch 3 experiments in 90 days. New town square concept. Think things like a “Future Albany” showcase—where local businesses, artists, and startups get five minutes each to pitch new ideas, exhibit products, or perform. Live streamed. Make it the region’s TEDx—but raw, local, and unapologetically Great Southern. Activation maps. Measurable. Marketed. Real.

3. Take Over the Narrative

If your town’s story lives only in brochures, you’ve already lost. Social selling is the future.

Own your town’s digital soul:

TikTok, Reels, microcontent, behind-the-scenes videos.
Showcase raw real stories from locals.
Build digital loyalty before they ever visit.

Business example: The Dam—imagine if they posted 3 Reels a week:

“How we pick our produce”
“A day in the life of a chef or the owner or Sam the Cocktail Man in Denmark”
“Behind the counter: what customers never see”

That builds curiosity, community, and conversion.

Get the 17-year-old who works part-time to run the account. Pay them. Watch it explode.

4. The Investor Lens: Opportunity or Quagmire?

Investors aren’t just looking at spreadsheets—they are reading the room.

If a town is locked in toxic culture, council deadlock, or passive resistance to change, no amount of sunshine or coastline will outweigh the risk.

But if the town:

Shows a hunger for renewal
Has an articulate strategic vision
Offers a clear, efficient process for development
…then suddenly, it becomes magnetic.

The truth is investors don’t just invest in projects. They invest in belief.

And belief is built through narrative, relationships, and visible momentum.

If you're in local leadership or business, ask yourself: “Would I invest here if I were on the outside looking in?”

If the answer is no—then you’ve got your first turnaround task.

5. Make Destination Venues That Actually Feel Like a Destination

Enough poor pub meals with a side of bad chips.

People don’t just want food. They want a story. An experience. Something they can’t get in Perth.

If you are a hospitality venue going into "off-peak" season, here are your turnaround moves:

Don’t just partner with wineries—create a Rotating Regional Residency. Every month, feature one local winemaker or chef who curates a menu, runs tasting experiences, tells their story.
Go hyper-local. Pair meals with produce grown within 25km. Print the producers on the menu. Make every night a love letter to the Great Southern.
Invest in proper videography. Film each night. Build a YouTube series that builds national brand.
Open up the venue mid-week for co-working, workshops, or business breakfasts (bridge the gap between towns in the Great Southern). Make your venue the town’s third space.
Launch a curated online store: wine, preserves, ceramics, art, books. Give tourists a reason to spend more and locals a reason to drop by even without a meal.
Free tastings? Fine. But turn them into guided tasting flights with QR code reorders. Sell online. Sell subscriptions. Sell to people after they’ve left town.
Bring down Perth creatives, podcast hosts, chefs in training. Let them work, live, create—and invite the public in to see what they’re building.

Tap into Perth’s networks—hospitality schools, sommeliers, social clubs (Mello House, Lawson Flats, Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club etc). Launch a quarterly ‘Great Southern Weekender’ in partnership with Perth chefs, musicians, and thought leaders. Each event is co-hosted: one night in Denmark or Albany, one pre-event dinner in Perth. Shared content, shared tickets, shared hype.

Capture it all. Build a documentary-style content series. Turn the ‘off-season’ into your digital high season.

Make the region magnetic—not just for locals, but for everyone looking for meaning and momentum. A launchpad for content.

Give people a reason to drive from Perth on a Thursday.

6. Build Mini-Incubators Inside Every Business

Every shop in Albany and Denmark should be launching a side hustle:

Gin bar selling make-your-own kits
Florist doing dried bouquet workshops
Surf shop teaching board shaping once a month

Why?

Drives foot traffic
Generates content
Creates community stickiness

Local idea: Boston Brewing Co runs a “beer school” each month. $49, includes dinner and tasting flight. Sold online. Captured on video. Reposted by attendees.

Turn your business into an ecosystem.

7. Create a Regional Culture of Risk and Reward

Right now, Denmark is brilliant—but cautious.

Albany is resource-rich—but slow.

We need:

Local reward funds: $1k for the best town idea each month
A culture wall: showcasing who tried, failed, and tried again
A youth founder fund: pitch night + grant

And we need to stop killing new energy with silence.

When someone tries something risky—show up. Buy tickets. Share it. Celebrate.

8. Kill the Excuses

“I don’t want to upset anyone.” “It’s always been like this.” “That’s council’s job.”

The region can’t afford this anymore.

Turnaround leaders don’t wait for green lights. They run red ones with vision and a plan.

9. Elevate the Youth. Then Get Out of Their Way.

Denmark’s future isn’t 55 and over.

Want to keep your kids in town? Give them a reason.

Let them build pop-up brands
Give them vacant shops to test businesses
Run teen-only creative nights. No parents. No permission slips.

Example: Partner with Denmark Senior High School. Let students build a brand from scratch that represents the region. Then fund it. Launch it at the markets. Get local mentors involved.