Watch: Zeller doco celebrates Melbourne small business culture

Operating a small business can be gruelling, costly, and complex. Australian entrepreneurs are challenged by big business competition, dense rulebooks, and ever-changing economic tides, which threaten to extinguish good ideas before they can flourish. If you’re reading this, you’re likely well aware of the hardships involved. You may even be taking a breather from your own enterprise, a hard-earned reprieve from the daily grind.

There is, of course, another side to the small business story: one defined by community, service, and the intangible rewards of operating an independent enterprise. A new short film, commissioned by payment tech provider Zeller, celebrates those attributes.

Rathdowne Village focuses on the small businesses populating Rathdowne Street in Melbourne’s inner north, a shopping strip emblematic of the city at large.

The 15-minute film, which Zeller premiered this week, highlights the reasons why founders choose to start a new enterprise.

It tracks the mother-and-son team behind Fledgling Espresso, who wonder at young families whose children grow before their eyes.

Down the street, Frank Siliato at Rathdowne Village Delicatessen orders hard-to-find products for select customers, while the Biscotteria team maintains the time-honoured tradition of having a chat with clientele over an espresso.

The flick closes in the evening at La Tonada, a restaurant bringing Latin fusion flavours to Carlton North; a look into its kitchen, and an interview with the venue’s chef, shows a kind of personal buy-in larger businesses can only dream of.

Rathdowne Village is produced by Zeller’s own director of growth Joshua McNicol, and is dotted with the company’s own POS offerings, but recognises big business is not always the star of the show.

You can watch the film below: