Let me introduce myself- Some of you will know me, some will not. My name is Anne Nalder, and I am the Founder / CEO of the Small Business Association of Australia. If you do not wish to receive our ‘Political e-News’, you may unsubscribe, but I would ask that you take a few minutes to have a read…we exist to help small businesses!
If you are a politician, regardless of which side of politics and regardless of whether you are a backbencher, in Opposition or a Minister…you hold the most important and powerful position in our country. Your decisions can make or break our economy and you can make life harder for many people.
You can also make a positive difference!
With well thought-out policies you can lift people out of poverty, provide hope and create opportunity.
Australia is a young country relative to European settlements, it is rich in resources, is one of the most multi-cultural countries in the world in which many people are willing to give it a go. And yet the system can be against them in doing so. Australia once regularly rated highly in global rankings for education and for conducting and propagating small businesses, yet today these opportunities have slipped. Today we have approximately 10% living in poverty with homelessness rising particularly amongst families and women over 50. So what went wrong?
Prior to the Pandemic, the Australian economy faced a prolonged drought, bushfires then floods, resulting in death and destruction on a massive scale. The economy was weakening, thus narrowly avoiding a recession which remains a threat. Then the Pandemic hit, with small business undertaking the heavy lifting.
Some presumed small businesses would fold during the Pandemic. This was naïve thinking as businesses generally do not fold overnight. Like policy, it can take 12 months or longer to filter through i.e. what normally happens small businesses are forced to carry on until they fold! The uncertainty situations small businesses have faced over the last 3-5 years is finally catching up. Governments around Australia did not fully understand the needs and the tough positions small businesses faced, therefore there were no post Pandemic policies in place. We are now facing a serious demise of small businesses which will impact negatively on business owners and families.
Community and staff. Whilst the unemployment rate is low, this is temporary especially as more businesses tighten their belts and businesses of varying sizes fold. On occasions there have been policy failures due to governments often making political decisions rather than creating sound business policies. As the Founder/CEO of SBAA, my interest lies with small businesses because ‘small business’ is the answer to many of the problems presently facing our country. The question that every one of us should ask is…
“Are small businesses sufficiently well recognized as being important to the Australian economy?”
ABOUT SMALL BUSINESS – SOME STATISTICS
There are four (4) recognized structures, being –
- Sole traders
- Partnerships
- Company’s
There are three (3) group sizes
- Micro (0-4 employees)
- Small (4-20 employees)
- Medium (20-200 employees)
Definition per Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
There is no single definition equally used for a small business, across each of our states. Regulators and large corporations have their own definitions, a rather confusing situation. At this stage the SBAA uses the ABS definition. Approximately ninety eight percent (98%) of businesses in Australia are small businesses with 80% being micro businesses. Out of that number approximately 700,000 do not employ staff. There are approximately 2.4million actively trading small businesses employing 5 million persons.
Series 1 will explain our advocacy, which includes the drafting of:
- The Small Business Charter of Australia which contains Ten Pillars drafted by the Small Business Association of Australia, which contains what is needed and what can be achieved.
- SBAA Think Tank which is a thought leader.
- SBAA is now recognized as an effective International Business Forum
- Biannual SBAA International Small Business Summits are now accepted as valuable educational business events.
Contact:
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require further information.
Anne Nalder, Founder / CEO
T: 0437 422608
