How Blue Mountains Gin Company Is Giving Back Through the BMCC Business Mentorship Program
Building a business in the Blue Mountains takes heart, persistence and a strong connection to community. It also helps to have guidance from those who have already walked the path. This year, Harry will be contributing to that support system in a formal way.
Today he is joining a panel at the Blue Mountains City Council office to help select participants for the 2026 Business Mentorship Program. The program offers up to ten fully funded mentorship scholarships that include group training sessions and one to one guidance tailored to each business. Applicants were invited to share how the program would help them consolidate their operations, support growth and create value for the local economy.
This is a full-circle moment for us. Blue Mountains Gin Company took part in the very first BMCC Mentorship Program in 2022. Working with a dedicated mentor gave us clear, practical direction at a time when the business was ready to move from ideas into sustainable expansion. The biggest lesson we took away was the power of detailed business planning. Cash flow forecasting, realistic targets and disciplined financial clarity helped us sharpen our strategy. It also supported us in launching The Factory Bar, which has become an important part of our growth and our connection with the community.
Having an external mentor gave us objective insight that is not always easy to find when you are wrapped up in the day to day of running a business. It is an experience we continue to value.
Our involvement with the program has continued well beyond 2022. On 27 November 2025 The Factory Bar hosted a BMCC Mentorship Alumni gathering, bringing together participants from all three annual programs held between 2022 and 2025. It was a warm and lively afternoon that showed how much local founders can achieve when they share knowledge and support one another.
Alongside this work, Harry serves as a director of Business Blue Mountains, a non-profit organisation that champions small business and strengthens the economic fabric of our region. His participation on the mentorship panel is another way we hope to contribute to a thriving, resilient local business community.