I recently had a conversation with a lawyer that specialises in estate planning.

This is a very important part of law, and one that is generally not appreciated as much as it should be.

The content of the conversation was not the really interesting part, rather the backstory was the aspect that really piqued my interest, as this person had returned to the country to work. You could say, she is a Mallee girl made good.

I don’t know the percentages, but I suspect there is a large number of people that grow up in the country and then head to the city for school, study or work, and never return.

There are others, though, that find the lure of the country quite strong, and ultimately return to ply their trade in the bush.

There is another cohort of people that haven’t moved back to the country, but have a focus on rural clients.

I am mainly thinking of the professional services types of businesses. I am sure there are others, but this is the sector I am most familiar with.

Whether someone has moved back to the country or provides services from a city location, they have one attribute in common that gives them an advantage on the competition – a broad understanding of how country people operate.

In the end, reputation is the only thing people can hang their hat on.

It can take a long time to earn, but can be lost in a heartbeat.

People from regional areas are acutely aware of this, and they can see through people pretty quickly when they are disingenuous.

Hopefully, the call of the bush becomes stronger for those that have left and haven’t lived in a rural community for quite some time.

Recent times have shown that work can be undertaken from most locations, and the need to be physically based in the city has become diminished to some extent.

Agriculture and regional Australia generally seems to be going through a bit of a renaissance. 

There are lots of advantages of living and working in a regional area, and these have been well-documented recently.

The thought that one had to move and live in the “big smoke” to really make it seems to be changing.

On the flip side, just because someone grew up in the country doesn’t automatically mean their business proposition will be successful.

In some ways, it makes it harder, as they are normally more visible.

But therein lies the opportunity. If they find out what the marketplace is after, and work out a way to do it a bit differently, then they have a better than even chance of making it a success.

Agriculture and regional Australia generally seems to be going through a bit of a renaissance. The momentum is building, and the time is right for those people that have been contemplating returning to the country or focusing on regional clients to make their move.

The rewards will be there for those that do the research and find out what the marketplace wants, and then tailor their service proposition to match.