Despite the Government’s plan to invest more than $43 billion to build the National Broadband Network, more than two fifths [42 per cent] of Australian business women reported that they were not sure if the NBN would increase their productivity at work, according to a survey released today by HerBusiness. The survey conducted by HerBusiness, a national community of nearly 20,000 businesswomen, is based on the responses of 395 participants and focuses on businesswomen’s views on social, environmental, political and other topical issues impacting women.
According to Suzi Dafnis, CEO of HerBusiness, increasingly business is being carried out online and therefore small businesses rely heavily on the use of the internet everyday for their business to run smoothly and efficiently and progress new opportunities via the internet.
“These figures reveal that although small businesses rely heavily on the internet it is unknown whether faster internet speeds will actually lead to increased productivity. There is naturally a lot of uncertainty about how the NBN will be rolled out given the election, but the research (which was conducted prior to the election campaign) shows that about a 31 per cent of respondents were uncertain as to how they would apply any benefits, another third (28 per cent) were very optimistic about its impact,” said Dafnis. Other key findings of the research:
- Tax concessions were reported by more than two fifths of the participants as the main incentive to reduce the environmental impact of their business.
- The overall confidence of business growth was positive with 22 per cent reporting that they expected their business to increase significantly and 39 per cent reporting that they expected their business to increase marginally.
- Nearly three quarters of Australian business women are using social media as part of their marketing strategy.
- Interestingly, 13 per cent of businesswomen are using social media tools for more than 50 per cent of their marketing initiatives.
The results of the HerBusiness Quarterly Index were analysed and compiled by Tribe Research, www.triberesearch.com.au . This is the first HerBusiness Quarterly Survey. It was hosted in June 2010 and is an ongoing research project which will be undertaken by HerBusiness every quarter.
About HerBusiness
HerBusiness is the peak organisation supporting women in business to provide them with the skills to start, manage and grow their business. With over 20,000 members, HerBusiness caters to the largest community of women business owners and entrepreneurs in the country. HerBusiness provides training and mentoring for women across Australia. Its advocacy initiative, herVoice, was created in response to numerous requests for HerBusiness to take a leading role in public policy development, advocacy and lobbying on issues relating to Australian businesswomen and female entrepreneurs. For more information visit: herbusiness.com
This media release was prepared by Espresso Communications. Espresso Communications prides itself in bringing a distinct flavour to the way they connect with stakeholders and a fresh approach to communications. Espresso Communications fills a gap in the market place by offering clients the breadth of skills of a large agency, without the overheads. Visit their website for more details: – www.espressocomms.com.au or call 02 9909 113.
