`Australia's Best Address' - Byron Bay.

Renowned for its colourful display of fashion, vegie burgers, beach side cafes, bronzed bodies and hemp clothes (if you don't wear it... I wonder if you can smoke it), Byron Bay is a play ground for the rich, international backpackers, corporate high flyers and creative geniuses.

As Ubud is to Bali, Byron Bay is to Australia... havens for people in search of Utopia. The intellectual giants, new age alternates, and world class artists find refuge in these destinations - it's where eccentricities are appreciated, adding a bonus to their pricetag. The changing face of the once labelled `hippies haunt', Byron has become a magnet for an emerging breed of burnt out city executives - The Alternate Capitalists (ACs)). This new classification which is not yet embraced by executive recruitment agencies, best describes those individuals who possess an inherent entrepreneurial streak and yearn for freedom from the tyranny of conventional ways and corporate constraints. In plain terms, the ACs are packing up and clearing out of the big smoke, leaving behind the pre Olympic road works and boardroom time wasters - destination...Byron Bay. The procedure manuals and company mission statements littered with the 90's buzz words: stress management; strategic planning; self empowerment; and time management, now take on a whole new meaning - the real meaning.

As pressures loom in the corporate arena, the AC community in Byron grows, changing the profile of the `tourist who never went home retiree' to the `trendsetting yuppy home based business entrepreneur'. As organisations look for new and better ways of doing things to gain that competitive edge.....so are their executives. Many are landing in Byron equipped with the skills and technology that enables them to do business anywhere. The home based business market is becoming big business, and with a drive to succeed, the ACs are embracing this opportunity and pathing the way for the future. Let's face it... reduced overheads, cheaper cost of living, a backyard of rolling hills and spectacular shoreline, makes for a very favourable proposition.

Although mesmerised by the unique culture and relaxed life style in doing business in Byron Bay, ACs do experience settling-in problems, which for some are insurmountable, these are: -

Your corporate title has lost its clout - no one takes any notice

Shops & business houses often keep unconventional - that's the way they like it

If you are going to rely on the local economy exclusively for a living - forget it we're all strapped for cash

Your communications arsenal, second only to Maxwell Smart will experience problems, be it digital or analogue

If you want MacDonalds or KFC in Byron - they don't exist

You'll need a new wardrobe - suits are taboo (keep them for birth, deaths and marriages)

And finally - the $80 000 plus salary is a memory - the going rate starts at $10/hr

So... watch out corporate giants, your overworked executives may be joining the ranks of the Alternate Capitalists. The ACs are taking a stake in Australian business and intend on making an impact everywhere, and in the most creative ways. Here they come, or should we say - here many have always been, like hidden jewels in the seas off `Australia's Best Address' - Byron Bay.

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