As Australia’s peak representative body for female entrepreneurs and women in business, the ABN recently met with the Hon Craig Emerson, Minister for Small Business, Independent Contractors and the Service Economy, to garner his thoughts about the future of small business in Australia – and to find out whether the Rudd Government has moved on from its policy of ignoring the specific needs of female business owners. Susan Wareham McGrath, Advisory Board Member and National Special Projects Manager interviewed Minister Emerson, and reports that she was heartened by his thoughts about the future of small business in Australia; but less than impressed with his Government’s continued refusal to address the specific needs of female business owners.
ABN: Minister, what are your thoughts about the future of small business as we emerge from the downtown, albeit slowly?
CE: Small business has a strong future in this country. There’s no doubt small business has played a major part in helping get the Australian economy through the downturn. No doubt that small businesses have kept on staff, remembering the previous era of staff shortages and believing the sector will come out intact. This has had an important, sound consequence of putting a floor under unemployment in Australia. The original Budget forecast was for it to peak at 8.5% – we are now estimating 6.75%. This is due in a substantial part to small business keeping their staff – in some cases they’ve reduced hours, but that’s a lot better than having employees lose their job. As well as making an incredibly valuable economic contribution, this also equates to a valuable social contribution – the scourge of unemployment can last for a long time. It’s likely that small businesses will be rewarded by the loyalty of staff, who will stay on and contribute to profitability as recovery takes place. Our stimulus package also assisted small business – the original cash payments, for example, helped stimulate the economy at a critical time; they helped avoid negative growth in two quarters in a row. If not for the stimulus, economic analysis indicates that the difference would have been a recession.
ABN: What do you see as growth industries over the next few years?
CE: One growth industry will be retailing. This will be driven by our strong population growth (in comparison with negative growth in some countries), which is higher than expected due to natural increase and our strong immigration program. This will lead to strong demand for retail goods and services. To remain competitive, retailers will however need to develop innovative ways of reaching customers. Tourism and associated industries will also grow over the next few years. In terms of women in business, we know that the majority of home-based businesses are run by women who can tap into a huge potential market. Our new broadband network will enable women in particular to develop online activities where they are currently unable to do so – currently downloading can take enormous time, but when our 100 megabits per second broadband network is implemented, women operating from home will be able to reach far more customers. It’s easy to underestimate the digital revolution – business has increased opportunities to find better ways of contacting customers via the internet – especially young people. Finding ways of accessing a young customer base will require innovative thinking, for example to find sites they’re visiting and make contact with them there. Another example is tourism. If you’re enquiring into accommodation, a one page website says nothing – and tourists are likely to say “I’m not going to ask”. They expect a virtual tour through the property – not easy to do if you don’t have an online presence. Online tourism is, to an extent, one area in which we could do better. We have relied too much on Australia’s natural assets, which has made us not as sharp as we could be. China and India’s economic growth is creating a very large middle class in each country, which will want to go overseas on holidays and innovative online marketing is the ideal way to promote Australia to these potential tourists.
ABN: What about the green revolution?
CE: There is potential for the green revolution to become overcrowded. Good, innovative green offerings will be successful, but a lot of people are coming up with similar ideas.
ABN: Has the situation changed since your advice at our last meeting that the Government is not planning to provide any specific funding, programs or initiatives to women in small business?
CE: What we are trying to do is support small business, in which women play a very important role. It would be very difficult to exclude males, particularly where women and men own or run businesses together. We will continue to work to increase the economic context for small business to develop and focus on growth.
ABN:What trends and issues do you see arising for small business over the next year?
CE: The main trends and issues I see will relate to employment. Shortages of skilled staff will re-emerge in some states, particularly in Western Australia, where business organisations are already discussing staff shortages. Consequently, the attraction of skilled workers from eastern states to work in Western Australia will create some shortages in those areas.
