Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to share the authors' initial insights into tourism industry capacity building via flexibly delivered online skilling and knowledge sharing. Design/methodology/approach: An online research survey approach was employed, involving a sample of 64 micro tourism operators. Findings: The paper finds that the major benefits perceived by operators across the pilot region, were the time saving aspects demonstrated in the smart form concept. Operators were also drawn in by the best practise examples and direct links to the online resources to bring and keep them up to date with industry information and developments. Research limitations/implications: The data presented in this paper represent initial findings of the pilot project. The project has since been completed. Practical implications: The model used for the pilot in this paper has been adopted by the Tourism Accreditation Board of Victoria and is now being considered for national rollout across Australia. The model is a practical and replicable capacity building model for micro tourism operators anywhere. Originality/value: The paper adopts a collaborative learning network approach to micro business capacity building and training. (Contains 1 note.)