Wyndham BizNet Growth - Live Business Panel Brings Local Business Leaders Together

Wyndham BizNet brought local business owners and professionals together for its Growth - Live Business Panel on Tuesday, 11 August 2026, creating an opportunity for the Wyndham business community to discuss the realities of business growth, leadership and building a successful business.

Held in Williams Landing in Melbourne’s west, the event featured an interactive panel discussion with Cate Bakos, Sash Nikolovski and Catherine McCarthy.

The conversation explored business growth beyond revenue and traditional measures of success, covering the challenges, stresses, worries and responsibilities that come with running a business, alongside workplace culture, budgets, gratitude, leadership and the rewards of seeing a business grow.

What was the Wyndham BizNet Growth - Live Business Panel?

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The Growth - Live Business Panel was a Wyndham business networking and professional development event designed to create an open and honest conversation about what it really takes to build and grow a business.

Rather than focusing only on success stories, the live panel explored the experiences behind business growth.

What happens when things don’t go to plan?

How do business owners manage the pressure that comes with growth?

How important is workplace culture?

How do financial decisions influence growth?

How do business owners recognise and appreciate their progress while continually looking towards what comes next?

These discussions gave attendees an opportunity to learn from the real experiences of established business leaders while considering how those lessons could apply within their own businesses.

Meet the Growth - Live Business Panel

The panel brought together business leaders from different professional backgrounds, demonstrating that valuable business lessons are not limited to one industry.

Cate Bakos, Cate Bakos Property

Cate Bakos is the Founder of Cate Bakos Property, an award winning Buyer’s Advocate and Qualified Property Investment Adviser.

Her contribution to the panel brought insights from the property industry and her experience building a respected professional services business.

Cate shared valuable perspectives on business growth, reputation, navigating challenges and the experiences that have shaped her approach to business.

Sash Nikolovski, Wilson Pateras

Sash Nikolovski is a Principal at Wilson Pateras, Accountants & Business Advisors.

Sash brought a financial and business advisory perspective to the discussion, drawing on his experience working with businesses and individuals to create opportunities, build wealth and consider their immediate and long term financial interests.

His insights highlighted the important role that financial decision making, planning and understanding your numbers can play throughout the different stages of business growth.

Catherine McCarthy, McCarthy Plumbing Group

Catherine McCarthy is Co Owner of McCarthy Plumbing Group.

Her experience growing and operating a trade based business brought another perspective to the discussion, including the realities of building teams, creating workplace culture and navigating the challenges that accompany business growth.

Her contribution was a great reminder that behind every growing business are people, decisions and challenges that need to be managed along the way.

Wyndham BizNet thanks Cate, Sash and Catherine for generously sharing their experiences, perspectives and lessons with the local business community.

What did we learn about business growth?

One of the strongest messages from the evening was that business growth is rarely straightforward.

From the outside, people often see the results of a successful business. They see the team, the clients, the reputation, the milestones and the achievements.

Behind those results are countless decisions, challenges and moments of uncertainty.

Throughout the panel, conversations explored:

• Business growth and changing priorities

• Stress and the pressures of business ownership

• Challenges and uncertainty

• Managing business budgets

• Building and protecting workplace culture

• Leadership and people management

• Recognising the rewards of business ownership

• Gratitude and appreciating progress

• Learning from difficult experiences• Making decisions for long term growth

While our panelists represented different industries, many of their experiences were relevant to businesses of all sizes and sectors.

That is one of the greatest benefits of bringing different parts of the Wyndham business community together.

A lesson from a property business may be relevant to someone running a trade business. An experience from accounting may change how another business owner approaches their finances. A conversation about workplace culture may resonate with any business preparing to grow its team.

There is always something to learn when business owners are willing to share their experiences openly.

Why are local business networking events important?

Business networking is about much more than exchanging contact details.

Local business networking events provide an opportunity for business owners and professionals to learn from one another, discuss common challenges, develop relationships and become more connected to their local business community.

For business owners in Wyndham and Melbourne’s west, having access to a network of people experiencing similar challenges can be particularly valuable.

The Growth - Live Business Panel created an environment where attendees could listen, ask questions and participate in genuine conversations about business.

The questions and contributions from the audience helped make the evening an interactive discussion rather than simply a presentation.

A huge thank you to everyone who attended, asked questions, shared their experiences and contributed to such an engaging evening.

Supporting business connections in Wyndham

Wyndham BizNet is a local business networking group supporting business connections across Wyndham and Melbourne’s west.

Through networking events, business education, professional development and informal opportunities to connect, Wyndham BizNet brings together people from different businesses and industries to Connect, Collaborate, Celebrate.

Events such as the Growth - Live Business Panel provide an opportunity for established business owners, growing businesses, entrepreneurs and local professionals to share knowledge and build relationships within the Wyndham business community.

Wyndham is home to businesses across an incredibly diverse range of industries.

While those businesses may provide completely different products and services, many business owners experience similar challenges.

Finding new clients.

Managing finances.

Building a team.

Creating the right culture.

Making difficult decisions.

Managing growth.

Planning for the future.

Having a local business network creates opportunities to talk about those challenges with people who understand them.

Thank you to Soréa Elegance in Every Bite

A special thank you goes to Soréa Elegance in Every Bite for catering the Growth - Live Business Panel.

The beautifully presented catering was thoroughly enjoyed by our attendees and provided the perfect addition to an evening centred around conversation and connection.

Great business events are about more than what happens during the formal discussion. Some of the most valuable connections can happen before the event begins, during a break or while continuing a conversation over food afterwards.

Thank you to Soréa Elegance in Every Bite for helping us create such a welcoming experience for our guests.

Looking for business networking in Wyndham?

If you are a business owner, entrepreneur or professional looking for business networking opportunities in Werribee, Williams Landing, Point Cook, Hoppers Crossing or the wider Wyndham region, Wyndham BizNet provides opportunities to meet, connect with and learn from other people in the local business community.

Wyndham BizNet brings together businesses from a wide range of industries, creating opportunities to build genuine relationships, exchange knowledge and become more connected with the local business community.

Our aim is simple:

Connect, Collaborate, Celebrate.

The Growth - Live Business Panel was another fantastic example of what can happen when local business owners and professionals come together to share their experiences openly.

Although every business journey is different, many of the challenges, decisions and opportunities we face are shared. There is enormous value in learning from the people around us and hearing how others have navigated their own path to growth.

Thank you again to our panelists, Cate Bakos, Sash Nikolovski and Catherine McCarthy, for sharing their experiences and insights.

Thank you to Soréa Elegance in Every Bite for the beautiful catering, and most importantly, thank you to everyone who attended, contributed to the discussion and helped make the evening such a success.

We look forward to bringing the Wyndham business community together again soon.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Wyndham BizNet?

Wyndham BizNet is a local business networking group connecting business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals across Wyndham and Melbourne’s west. The network provides opportunities for local businesses to connect, collaborate, learn from one another and celebrate business success through networking events, professional development and community activities.

Where does Wyndham BizNet hold events?

Wyndham BizNet holds business networking events at venues throughout the City of Wyndham and Melbourne’s west, including Werribee, Williams Landing and surrounding areas.

Who can attend Wyndham BizNet events?

Wyndham BizNet events bring together local business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals from a wide range of industries who are interested in building connections, learning from others and becoming more involved in the Wyndham business community.

What happens at Wyndham BizNet events?

Wyndham BizNet hosts a variety of events throughout the year, including business panels, educational sessions, workshops, professional networking opportunities and informal social events.

Each event is designed to create opportunities for Wyndham businesses to connect, collaborate and learn from one another.

What was the Growth - Live Business Panel?

The Wyndham BizNet Growth - Live Business Panel was a business networking and professional development event held in Williams Landing on 11 August 2026.

The event featured business leaders Cate Bakos, Sash Nikolovski and Catherine McCarthy discussing the realities of business growth, including leadership, workplace culture, budgets, challenges, stress, gratitude and the rewards that come with building and growing a business.