SCOOTER AND JINX, A MELBOURNE COFFEE SHOP, SCOOTS AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION AND WINS THE BIZGIVER $2000 SMALL BUSINESS GRANT.
Tucked away in Little Collins Street in Melbourne’s CBD, Scooter & Jinx at first may look like your typical Melbourne Laneway coffee shop. Walk inside though and you’ll find some of the city’s best coffee as well as some of the tastiest toasties in Australia.
“I would fly from Perth to this joint, just for a toastie!” says just one of many 5-star reviews on their Facebook page.
Started just four months ago by Chris Sinclair and his wife, the shop is quickly gaining a reputation for great coffee, legendary gourmet toasties and fantastic customer service.
“My wife and I started this venture to build a future around our love of food and meeting people.” explains Chris, “The support for small business in Melbourne and surrounds is inspiring for people to give it a go knowing we are supported by the community.”
Setting a business is a hard and costly exercise. For Scooter & Jinx this meant that not all their checklist items could be completed on opening.
“As most new small business owners can attest to, setup costs can and will blow out,” Chris concedes, “Funds available to finish off the front of our shop with personality were limited so the BizGiver competition was an opportunity grasped with both hands.”
BizGiver is a $2000 small business grant that realises the wish of the winning small business every season. Since it’s inception in 2014, over $60,000 in Small Business wishes have been granted; everything from training programs, white goods, machinery to laptops, websites and even branding.
It was started by BizCover as a way to give back to the small business community that so often gets overlooked.
To enter, a business simply needs to head over to bizcover.com.au/bizgiver and put down a wish for their business for a physical item or service.
For Scooter & Jinx this wish was for a brand-new awning and signage.
“While our shop looks great, our funds ran out before we were able to get the outside of the shop completed,” clarifies Chris, “Being in Melbourne the weather can play havoc on a day’s takings, especially seeing as we are situated right on Little Collins Street with no awning to protect our treasured customers from the elements”
Winning the competition has meant that Scooter & Jinx can now have their much-desired awning installed as well as signage to help their shop be found amongst the maze of Melbourne alleyways.
