Kylie Harvey could feel the tears well up the moment Khaos Cakery was announced as the winner of the $12,000 biz marketing giveaway at a well turned-out event attended by Howick business owners and managers on Thursday at Uxbridge Arts and Centre.
The award was judged by the Pam Glaser, (owner Crackerjack Promotions, also organiser of the Farmers Santa Parade in the city for more than 30 years) and Jim Doyle (managing director at Vodafone Warriors).
“I was absolutely blown away,” says Kylie, reliving the proud moment. “The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.”
For Kylie it has been an opportunity of a lifetime, winning the ultimate marketing experience that includes a $2000 multimedia advertising package from the Times Media.
“It’s only been five weeks since we opened our business. My husband Peter and I were meant to launch our business on March 30. And then Covid-19 lockdown happened on March 26.”
Khaos Cakery in Rodney St, Howick, had to face the harsh reality of postponing the opening of their brand new business to the second week of Level 3.
“The local community has come together to support us. We have been really busy,” says Kylie, who was a home-based caker for four years.
“In a way, the lockdown worked in our favour as everyone is focused on shop local which has helped us a lot.
“The reason why we named our business Khaos Cakery, Espresso Bar and Cakery is because we are parents of five kids and life is pretty busy; then we decided to take our business a step further,” she laughs
Kylie says she will document the process of meeting all the businesses that sponsored the marketing giveaway and post her journey on social media.
The idea behind the marketing event was initiated by Bo Burns, a local businesswoman and member of the Howick Local Board, who wanted to help reboot local businesses struggling to make ends meet, post Covid-19.
“I was thrilled and very proud of the 100 local businesses that took the time to enter the collaborative $12k giveaway, clearly with many needing that boost after the disastrous lockdown period,” says Bo
“It was a difficult task for our two independent judges Jim Doyle and Pam Glaser with – after 24 hours – narrowing it down to their top five.
“The evening was a huge success held at the Uxbridge Arts & Cultural centre with 110 local business owners attending the Howick Click networking event.
“If you are a local business owner and would like to be part of this dynamic business networking group, get in touch on Facebook – you can find us under Howick Click.”
