With the rising cost of living, out-of-reach city house prices, and the realisation your morning commute need only be as far as your kitchen table, it’s hardly surprising that two in five capital city residents are thinking of moving to the country. 

That includes many small business owners, founders and freelancers. By mid-2023, 31 per cent of the 2.5 million Australian small businesses were located in a regional area – and of these, the vast majority are sole traders or micro-businesses.

I am one of them. Or at least, I will be – I’m currently in what my new community calls ‘the transition phase’, splitting my time between Sydney and the mid-North Coast of NSW.

COVID accelerated my family’s 10 year plan to buy a place near the beach, and the rapid shift to online meetings enables me to run my copywriting agency, Writers Australia, from anywhere. 

Before 2020, I spent almost every day travelling to and from client meetings, and frequently popped down to Melbourne to cram all the relationship building I could into a sleep-shattering day. Today, I could count the number of new clients we meet in real life on one hand – whether they’re in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or beyond. And they don’t mind whether I’m dialling in from Writers HQ or my Scotts Head spare room, as long as we keep doing great work.

What’s surprised me is how much easier, efficient and energised that work is away from the hectic pace and distractions of a big city. And how many other freelancers and founders have realised exactly the same thing.

Finding focus

When Amanda Deacon and Ciara Waters founded Lexicon, a communications agency based in Sydney, they pioneered a more progressive approach to flexible working. Almost ten years later, Amanda put that culture to the test when she relocated her young family to Cairns during the first pandemic lockdown.

Having never set foot in Far North Queensland, they thought it would be a short-term adventure while her husband had a contract with James Cook University. 

Five years later, they have no plans to return. 

“It turns out we love it here,” says Amanda. “It’s a much more relaxed pace of life, our children are outside all the time, we spend our weekends on the Great Barrier Reef, we’re camping and swimming. For me, that’s living.”

For two working parents with primary school-aged children, the work-life balance is infinitely easier. “You don’t realise how much stress you’re feeling until you leave that pressure cooker,” she says.

Amanda’s role as Lexicon’s CEO remains the same, leading the business strategy and key account direction. She flies to Sydney every six weeks or so, prioritising client presentations.

“One benefit of my move is it’s forced other team members to take a bit more responsibility for business development,” she says. “That’s a positive, as it should be everyone’s role.” 

Working away from city pressures can sharpen your focus on what matters. It frees time in the day for deeper thinking. And it certainly reduces the financial stress on family life.

Over in Armidale, entrepreneurs Steph and Martin Wanless have had a similar realisation. The couple met while working with a content marketing agency in Sydney. They moved to Newcastle for more space – with a baby in tow – but initially Martin was still commuting back to Sydney a few days a week. The balance felt off. 

In 2019 they shifted further north to Armidale, close to Steph’s parents. Martin focused on building a B2B content agency, By Wanless. This financial safety net enabled Steph to launch their second family business: regional magazine and website REGGIE. 

“I can deliver far greater value working from a regional area,” Martin says. “If I was at a bigger agency, I’d be managing a team of 15 or more. Now, my clients get direct access to my experience – without the overheads. And I’m more relaxed, so I have the right mindset to do good work.”

Expanding opportunities

Self-employment gives you control over where you work and how much you can earn. And that income can far exceed what a regional employer could match. It’s also potentially less risky than betting a major lifestyle move on the one employer in town.

And although it seems counter-intuitive, relocating your business away from the city can actually make your world bigger. 

“It creates a mindset shift: your client base doesn’t need to be so narrow,” says Amanda. She’s now exploring new business opportunities in Asia, with Singapore just a six hour flight from her home. 

Over in Port Macquarie, author advocate and publishing industry dynamo Anna Featherstone has never regretted her move from Sydney. In her new home, she mentors authors, hosts a self-publishing podcast for the global Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), judges book awards, and runs workshops. 

“It’s so easy to stay up with, if not be ahead of, fast-moving trends and industry transformation,” she says. “I’m not bound to one city,  but I am embedded in an incredibly curious, creative and entrepreneurial community around Australia and the world.”

Staying connected

Distance can create a few downsides. Delayed or cancelled regional flights can make long road trips your only Plan B for urgent client meetings. The NBN isn’t always an option.

Business owner Elizabeth Bond says she relies on Starlink satellite. She runs the business Zenbird Words, which requires a reliable internet connection to host VIP days with overseas clients, and is also developing an AI-powered product. The satellite connection is crucial for her business – but it’s also relatively costly.

Then there’s the problem of staying socially connected, because moving into a small community can be isolating at first. Elizabeth emphasises the critical importance of “staying plugged in” to local networking groups and online communities.

“I love collaborating, and I’ve built many relationships with people through online groups, professional development courses, and memberships,” she says.

Wanting to expand business networking opportunities in her new home, Elizabeth became a founding member and president of the Nambucca Valley Women’s Business Network, which has opened the door to speaking opportunities. 

Steph Wanless expressed a similar sentiment.

“You still need business support, or you could find yourself in an echo chamber,” says Steph. “It’s even more important to make time for face to face meetings, because in regional areas everything runs on relationships.”

She credits her Byron Bay-based business coach and a local business group with keeping her accountable. One conversation led to REGGIE shortlisting for the 2024 Innovate with NBN grant, which Steph says she would never have heard about otherwise. 

Before you start planning your regional relocation, make sure your business has a strong foundation.

“I don’t think this move would have been possible if my business wasn’t already established, with a strong reputation in the market,” says Amanda. “I think it would be very hard to build something new.”

It’s also important to make sure the move makes sense for you personally. Does your family have specific medical or education needs, or do you need to be within close proximity of an airport? 

“Think deeply about whether you’re ‘running away from’ or ‘running to,’” advises Anna. “Solve any business or personal problems first, so you can make the move without bringing excess baggage along.”

Having spent 18 years growing my business, I’m now able to reap its benefits. It gives me the flexibility to work where I want – knowing my team will back me 100%. And it’s given me the freedom and space to focus on writing my first book, Beyond Solo, which explores what good growth looks like beyond a company of one. 

Stepping back from the grind has helped me understand what business growth means to me personally. And that can be profoundly liberating – because your business should work for you, not the other way around.  

The post Why more small-business owners are moving to regional Australia appeared first on Inside Small Business.

This article is for those of you who want to automate your business in 2025, but don’t know where to begin. We worked with systems expert David Jenyns to break down automation into small, manageable steps, starting from the very, very beginning.

But first and foremost: What does automation mean?

At the most basic level, automation is optimising your business’ processes so that things get done as efficiently as possible. It often means freeing up small, repetitive tasks using technology. Crucially, automation is about giving you more time to work on your business, rather than in it.

“I kind of see automation as ‘How do we leverage a machine to do parts of the work that previously a human did?’ ” David explains.

He clarifies that automation doesn’t have to include a machine – it could involve delegating tasks to other people, or offshoring – but it often does. For example, automation experts like David are turning to artificial intelligence to help their clients streamline processes.

So, let’s say you want to automate. How do you get started?

STEP ONE: Take stock of your business processes

Before you can automate any of your processes, you need to identify what you’re currently doing and how. 

If you’re looking for somewhere to start, you might divide your business up into imaginary departments, like HR, marketing, sales or product development, David explains. For each department, think about its purpose. 

“Marketing’s purpose is to generate leads,” David says. “OK, well, what are the most important systems that contribute to generating leads in that department?”

By focusing on only the processes that generate results, you’re also identifying the processes that aren’t serving your business.

For an example of automation in practice, ISB also spoke to small-business owner Shannon Smit. Shannon, who owns a small accounting firm, explains how she undertook the exact process described above when starting her own automation journey.

“I started by systemising each of the different processes and taking them apart one piece at a time,” the business owner recounts. One of her departments was IT – which she promptly outsourced to someone else.

STEP TWO: Identify who does these processes the best and record them

Once you’ve identified the main processes that make up your business, it’s time to record them.

If you want to automate a process, you first need to establish what the process should look like when it’s done well and record this for later reference. Recording your processes is important for a number of reasons:

1. You can use your process recordings to teach other team members to do them well, standardising the process and saving time.
2. New team members can be onboarded much more quickly.
3. Key-person dependency is eliminated.
4. And, crucially: You can eventually use your most efficient version of the process when developing software to do the task for you.

When it comes to recording business processes, David recommends getting a video of someone doing the process on whatever recording device you have handy and prefer. If you’ve got employees, the person doing the task should be the team member who can do it the best. You can record them doing the task via phone, screen record, or even getting them to wear a Gopro; whatever is easiest.

Next, transcribe the video of the process. You can do this manually or use a transcription software, like Otter. Feed the transcription into an LLM, like ChatGPT or Gemini, and ask the LLM to draft a description of the process using the transcription. 

Once it’s done, take the description back to the original team member who does the process best and have them check the LLM’s description for accuracy.

After that, you can enhance your documentation by adding links to templates, PDFs, additional resources, photos or the original video. Then establish a place to save all your recordings, like a series of Google Drive folders, or a note-taking app like Notion.

Shannon uses a software called systemHUB to store all her process documentation. 

“Originally, it was all in Word docs,” she says. “But systemHUB enables us to have the text and the content. We do Loom videos for everything as well.”

Having all her business’ processes stored makes it much easier for everyone on Shannon’s team – particularly new hires – to reference them.

“The beauty of it is that now, especially from an undergraduate perspective, they can go, ‘oh, so how do I do that fixed asset section?’ They can go back to the systemHUB. They can watch the video, if that’s their preferred way of seeing things, or they can just read the text, which also goes through step by step.”

Shannon explains that she makes all her stored processes short, no more than five minutes to read or watch. This makes each process much more digestible. If you’re worried about missing a step, you can always save your original documentation video and refer to that for a more detailed explanation.

STEP THREE: Optimise your tasks

So, you know the processes that make up your business operations, and you’ve taken note of how to do them well. Is it time to bring in the robots to do them all for you yet?

Not necessarily. As David explains, the benefits of automation can be less technologically complicated than we think.

“Generally, the biggest wins in most small businesses are just adding consistency and removing key person dependency,” David says. “You know, making sure that if, say, ‘Sarah’ is not in, the task can still get done.”

Once you get that in place first, and the business has a good number of systems in each department, then you can consider how to outsource each process to a machine. David gives us some examples of how this could work.

“The first, easiest one is [Chat]GPT or whatever LLM you choose,” he says. “You want to look in your processes for writing- or proofing-related things, or anything where it just makes sense to go, ‘Hey, maybe we could craft a prompt here and stick that into the process for step number three.’ ”

To get better answers from your LLM, David recommends spending some time training it up. There are plenty of resources out there on how to do this; basically, it involves getting the system familiar with what sort of answers you want from it. It’s not dissimilar to training a new employee.

You can also use AI for inspiration on automating. For instance, you might feed your process back into ChatGPT and ask it for suggestions on how to optimise the process. You could ask it to suggest steps it could do for you, or to recommend software to lighten the load.

If you want to get more sophisticated, you can also use workflow tools, like Cassidy. These tools can string together processes for you. For instance, you can set up the tool to copy and paste text into ChatGPT for proofing, then copy and paste the result into a separate document, and then apply formatting in a specific way.

If you’re feeling even fancier, and have more of a budget, you can even create a custom coding solution that is specific to your business. To find someone who can do this for you, you can search the internet for custom coding solutions in your area, or “software solutions for small business”. If you’re good at vetting contractors, you can also find cheaper deals on sites like Upwork, David explains.

Shannon says she got custom software for her business. After hiring some IT contractors, she showed them her systemHUB. The contractors were able to look over each process and tell her whether they could set up an automatic system via some custom software.

For instance, her team identified a repetitive and unnecessary task that was wasting everyone’s time: redoing clients’ fixed assets statements in Xero. Pre-automation, the tedious task took up 30 to 40 minutes per client. To save time, Shannon’s contractors built a custom piece of software to do the task.

David describes an accountant client who set up a custom coding solution to double-check client information in their ATO portal. 

“One of the tasks is to log into the ATO portal to see whether or not any new reports or things have been updated that they need to send over to their client,” David says. “They created a little robot that basically logs in, scans the portal, double-checks things…against their account, and then emails the client to let them know.”

It sounds like a tiny task, but setting up a coding solution to do the checks for them saved this client more than 1000 hours a year, David says.

STEP FOUR: Getting the team on board

Both David and Shannon mentioned one key challenge when it comes to automation: getting team members on board, if you have them.

“It just starts off with talking about it,” David asserts. “As a leader in an organisation, you need to lead by example. You need to talk about it. You need to bring it up in team meetings. You need to celebrate when someone does this right, when they create a process, or they leverage AI to do a thing.”

Shannon says she does training sessions with her team regularly. She also encourages them to use tools like AI in their own time to get more comfortable with them. To practise with AI, you can start using it to help you with anything, from making a shopping list to organising a holiday.

Ultimately, both Shannon and David think AI is the future – whether their team members like it or not.

“I’ve said to my team – as brutal as it sounds – this is where we need to go, and I’m just going to drag everyone kicking and screaming,” Shannon laughs.

“I mean, the reality is, a team member who uses AI will probably, in time, outperform tenfold a team member who doesn’t, so that the team member doesn’t really have a choice,” David says. “Either the business you’re in is going to do it, or the competitor is. The genie is out of the bottle. There’s no going back on this now.”

This article first appeared in issue 47 of the Inside Small Business quarterly magazine

The post The ultimate step-by-step guide to automating your business operations appeared first on Inside Small Business.

Offshore manufacturing

Offshore manufacturing plays a vital role in allowing businesses to scale efficiently, reduce costs, and remain price-competitive in a global marketplace. It allows businesses to take advantage of economies of scale and access specialised expertise that may not be available locally. Offshore suppliers can manage non-core production needs, such as packaging and accessories, freeing up local resources to focus on more critical product lines.

Reducing costs: Global supply chains provide businesses with a unique opportunity to reduce material costs and enhance operational efficiency, without sacrificing quality. This is made possible by the fact that many overseas manufacturers are now investing heavily in technologies and building robust logistics systems, which help streamline production processes and ensure reliable delivery schedules.

Managing risks: However, managing risks still remains a key consideration. To reduce any potential issues, companies can implement stringent quality control measures, conduct thorough factory audits, and develop strong, long-term relationships with trusted suppliers. While challenges such as geopolitical instability, tariffs, and shipping delays may pose risks to supply chains, businesses can effectively navigate these hurdles by creating flexible contingency plans, ensuring that they can maintain stability even in uncertain times.

Sustainability: Alongside cost and efficiency benefits, offshore manufacturing can also support sustainability goals. While consumers are drawn to local brands for their craftsmanship and lower carbon footprint, offshore manufacturers in many countries are adopting environmentally-conscious practices, allowing companies to align with ethical manufacturing standards.

Through careful supplier selection, businesses can ensure that their offshore production meets environmental and ethical expectations, delivering products that resonate with socially-conscious consumers. As consumers become more focused on the values behind the products they purchase, it’s more important than ever for businesses to prioritise sustainability and ethical practices in their supply chains.

Local manufacturing

Local manufacturing, while still very important, can serve as a complementary strategy to work alongside offshore production. Local manufacturing offers faster turnaround times, greater control over quality, and the ability to respond quickly to market trends. This model works really well for industries with seasonal demands or customer needs, like fashion, beauty, and high-end consumer goods.

Expense: While local production can be more expensive, government incentives, tax breaks, and grants can help balance the costs, making it a smart choice for specialised or high-value products. Plus, partnering with local suppliers not only sparks innovation but also provides valuable local market knowledge, giving businesses the opportunity to stand out with unique offerings tailored to regional demands.

Strategically combining offshore and local manufacturing allows businesses to build a strong, scalable growth strategy that maximises the strengths of both onshore and offshore manufacturing. This balanced approach not only boosts operational efficiency but also positions businesses to meet evolving market demands and consumer expectations, creating a sustainable and adaptable manufacturing model. When managed effectively, this partnership allows businesses to thrive in a competitive and ever-changing market, securing long-term success.

The post How businesses can balance offshore and local manufacturing for growth appeared first on Inside Small Business.

Under the state’s Retail Trading Amendment (ANZAC Day Trading Hours) Act 2024, retail shops that are classified as ‘non-exempt’ are no longer allowed to open after 1 pm on ANZAC Day, and some businesses previously able to open will need to remain closed for the entire day.

Those exempted from the policy are establishments classified as ‘small shops’, businesses outside of retail, or with special exemptions. These establishments include bazaars, fairs, or markets (if conducted for charitable or public fundraising purposes); book shops; fruit and vegetable shops; news agencies; pet shops; recorded music, video or DVD shops; restaurants, cafes or kiosks; and vehicle service centres or petrol stations.

Note that ‘small shops’ refers to shops with no more than four employees and two owners.

But even though a number of small businesses will not be affected by the ANZAC Day policy, many small-business owners in the state and other business groups have voiced their opposition, saying that even small businesses who are allowed to stay open will be adversely affected regardless.

“While small businesses like cafes and chemists are exempt from this legislation, they will be impacted by the closure of larger stores. For example, a small café next to a supermarket will see limited foot-traffic and will most likely make the decision not to open,” the Australian Retail Association explained in their statement.

In a separate statement, Retail Drinks Australia pointed out that while hotels, clubs, restaurants, and bars to sell takeaway alcohol throughout ANZAC Day, 80 per cent of NSW packaged liquor retailers must remain closed.

“This isn’t about changing the significance of ANZAC Day – it’s about ensuring fair treatment for all licensed businesses while maintaining the importance of the day,” said Michael Waters, CEO of Retail Drinks Australia.”The NSW Government needs to understand that people commemorate ANZAC Day in different ways – whether joining a service, watching it at home or coming together with family and friends for a BBQ. It just makes no sense that the NSW Government would allow some licensed businesses to open but not others.”

Critics also pointed out that ANZAC Day this year falls on a Friday with many members of the public likely to take the chance to embrace a long weekend. As such, closed supermarkets will be a frustrating experience for would-be shoppers and a source of significant lost revenue for retailers.

“Casual employees rely on public holiday rates to make ends meet during these tough economic times. This decision takes money out of the pocket of vulnerable frontline workers.” the ARA stated.

While critics acknowledge that ANZAC Day is one of the most significant days of the year for Australians who proudly come together as a nation to commemorate its fallen soldiers, the rushed implementation of the policy, which only served to bolster the perceived unfair, discriminatory, and anti-competitive nature of the policy leaves a bitter taste in the mouth of many small-business owners.

“We’re simply asking for a level playing field. The current situation disadvantages small, family-run businesses while larger venues can continue trading,” Retail Drinks Australia’s Waters said.

The ARA and Retail Drinks Australia stated that they will continue to advocate for the easing of the shopping restrictions on ANZAC Day for NSW retailers despite the lack of commitment from the NSW government to address the matter at this time.

The post Fears NSW’s new ANZAC Day trading rules will impact small businesses appeared first on Inside Small Business.

In 2024, a record 505,474 new businesses were registered, but a record 443,395 businesses were deregistered or wound down, 15,238 more than the previous year, an equivalent of 17 per cent of businesses operating at the start of 2024 (2.61 million) that had closed by the end of the year.

Money.com.au’s Data & Research expert Peter Drennan explained that challenging operating conditions contributed to the record-high turnover rates even if more Australians are starting businesses.

“Rising costs of living, higher interest rates on commercial loans and mortgages, and economic uncertainty are making it harder for businesses to survive,” Drennan said. “Some closures may simply be business owners restructuring or re-registering under different models.”

The decline of the sole trader

Drennan pointed out that, while a record number of businesses registered this year, sole trader and partnership entries are declining.

The report found that the total number of sole traders grew by just one per cent in 2024, while new registrations for sole traders dropped 13 per cent in December alone. Partnerships also declined by four per cent over the year, with a 12 per cent fall in new registrations in the December quarter.

“Sole trader and partnership entries are declining, while companies grew by 5 per cent, which suggests a shift in how people structure their businesses,” said Drennan.

ISB has recently covered some of the challenges faced by sole traders, from grants and software pricing to a lack of rightsized legislation. With many systems, processes, and services simply not designed for sole traders, it’s no wonder that people are opting out.

The post Australia has record-high business churn, but a sole trader decline. Why? appeared first on Inside Small Business.

Meant for business-to-business transactions, eInvoicing (or electronic invoicing) lets you exchange invoices digitally through shared software, eliminating the need to print or email them. While it’s still optional right now, it’s set to become the new industry norm.

Over 130,000 Aussie businesses are currently registered for eInvoicing, with adoption growing as more software providers integrate it. The recent Federal budget also allocated $23.3 million to help small businesses adopt eInvoicing.

If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by the shift, we shall break it down and show you how this change can be a win for your business.

The right software support

eInvoicing works through standard, secure networks, allowing invoice data to be exchanged between different software systems. In Australia (and many other countries), this standard is the Peppol network. To use eInvoicing, both your business and the recipient’s business must use software that connects via Peppol, where Australian Tax Office-approved service providers securely deliver invoices.

The Australian eInvoicing system is designed to integrate easily with your accounting software. Many small-business providers, like Xero, already offer eInvoicing. So, start by checking if your current system supports it. If not, it might be worth switching to avoid a complicated setup.

When choosing new software, remember to look for:

• Ease of use
• Good integration with your existing systems
• Local customer support

A good invoicing solution will help you stay compliant, streamline your process, and reduce errors.

Slashing scams and late payments

The recent Pursuing Payments Report by GoCardless revealed that one in five Australian business owners are losing between $6,000 and $30,000 each year due to late payments, and more than half expect the problem to get worse this year. eInvoicing automates the invoicing process to facilitate more timely payments.

eInvoicing also reduces the number of late payments and builds better business relationships by encouraging prompt, reliable transactions. It can help to prevent delays and miscommunications, allowing everyone involved to move forward smoothly and avoid any financial hiccups.

eInvoicing’s advanced security features, like encryption and secure transmission, protect your data from scams and unauthorised access. Plus, by storing everything electronically, it cuts the risk of losing or damaging physical invoices and makes it a breeze to manage and find your documents when you need them.

What to do with the money saved

Traditional invoicing often comes with high administrative costs, including expenses for paper, printing, postage, and manual processing time. eInvoicing helps cut or eliminate these costs by automating many of these tasks. With digital invoicing, you can lower your operational expenses, boost efficiency, and allocate resources more effectively. Plus, reducing errors and rework from manual invoicing can lead to even more savings both financially and in human resources. 

With late payments dramatically reduced, your cashflow will also become more secure, giving you more cash on hand to reinvest in your business. According to the Pursuing Payments Report, if customers paid on time, 31 per cent of business leaders would use the extra funds to grow their business, 30 per cent would pay suppliers sooner, and 28 per cent would invest in other areas. This creates growth opportunities even in a sluggish economy, allowing you to explore marketing, new products or services, and even hiring more support.

Switching to eInvoicing is a chance to remove pain points in your invoicing process and boost your business’s efficiency. You’ll not only keep up with the new invoicing standard but also improve relationships, reduce late payments and increase cashflow. 

The post Why (and how) to adopt eInvoicing appeared first on Inside Small Business.

Don’t you wish the big company decision-makers understood your perspective better? Imagine being able to share thoughts like these in a cover letter or conversation.

In fact, I encourage small businesses to be open about these realities which I call the “GAP Effect” – the space between small and large companies that is difficult to bridge. Here’s how a small business might communicate its position, and challenge the assumptions made about SMEs as suppliers.

Dear CEO,

I hope this letter finds you well. As a small-business owner eager to partner with your company, I’d like to share my perspective on the vetting process we go through. I understand that managing risk in your supply chain is vital and we’re fully committed to meeting your criteria. However, I believe an open dialogue about this process could help us work together more effectively.

Financial Stability:

I completely understand why financial stability is critical. If we were in your shoes, we’d also want to ensure that every link in our supply chain was strong. We’ve made it a priority to keep our financial records in top shape, and we’re happy to provide any documents you need to demonstrate our stability and commitment.

As a small business, we face different challenges to you. Our margins are often slimmer, and we probably don’t have the same financial reserves. However, we’ve built in safeguards and have a strong track record of managing risk. While our balance sheet may not look like that of a large corporation, we offer agility, innovation, and local knowledge – qualities that may be harder to quantify than $$ on a Balance Sheet, but are just as valuable.

Operational Capacity:

We take our operational capacity very seriously. We’ve worked hard to develop scalable processes Still, I believe that closer collaboration in forecasting and planning would allow us to serve you better – consistently meet your expectations and ensure timely, accurate deliveries. This benefits both our businesses.

Quality Control:

Quality is the cornerstone of what we do. Like you, we know that delivering a high standard of work reflects well on both parties. We’ve implemented rigorous quality control measures. Our goal is to show that we can meet, and even exceed, your standards.

Compliance and Risk Management:

We know that regulatory compliance and effective risk management are key to maintaining  robust supply chains, and your reputation. While small businesses like ours sometimes struggle with the complexity of regulations – we don’t have teams of in-house lawyers – we’re committed to staying compliant. We would greatly appreciate any guidance or support your team can offer to help us navigate this area and ensure that we continue meeting your requirements.

Ethical and Sustainable Practices:

As a small business, we’re deeply committed to ethical and sustainable practices. We live in the communities where we operate, and live with the consequences of our actions. We believe that our operations should contribute positively to both our community and the environment. Our sustainability initiatives and fair labour practices are part of who we are. We’re eager to align with your Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) goals to make a meaningful impact together.

Yours sincerely,

SME Owner

Could you write this letter honestly?

Often, it’s not that small businesses don’t have what it takes, but they may not fully understand what needs to be done to reach the next level. Taking a step back to reassess your position could help close the GAP and open the door to those bigger opportunities.

Open communication and emphasising the unique value that small businesses bring – whether it’s agility, innovation, or local expertise – you can move toward building strong, mutually beneficial relationships with larger companies.

The post The letter that will change how big companies see your small business appeared first on Inside Small Business.

The new Global Workforce Report from global HR platform Remote, which surveyed more than 4,000 business leaders of companies across 10 countries, including 506 leaders from Australia., found that 60 per cent of hiring leaders say their employers have lost employees to organisations who are less tied to traditional office hours and locations in the last six months.

Among its findings is the fact that in Australia, flexible working hours and remote work are offered by 39 per cent and 32 per cent of businesses respectively. However, small businesses and small-medium enterprises are significantly more likely to offer these perks. 

In particular, most businesses with 1-9 employees (83 per cent) and 10-49 employees (72 per cent) offer flexible working hours, in comparison to only 41 per cent of businesses with 250-499 employees and 53 per cent of businesses with 50-100 employees. 

Similarly, remote work is currently offered at 69 per cent of businesses with 49 employees or less, and less than a third of businesses with 250-499 employees (27 per cent) and 500-1,000 employees (33 per cent).

Benefits of flexible working highlighted

The report also highlighted that in the case of Australia, an increase in productivity (40 per cent) and improved business performance (29 per cent) were two primary benefits that respondents attributed to operating remotely. This stands in contrast to the view of some high-profile organisations who have introduced RTO (Return to Office) practices citing productivity as a reason for their move.

When asked about the impact remote working has on employees, 35 per cent of companies said it increased employee satisfaction and 28 per cent highlighted remote work as being crucial to an enhanced life-work balance for employees. In addition, 82 per cent were able to reduce office space due to implementing remote or hybrid models successfully.

Challenges of remote working bared

Despite the benefits, remote working also brought significant challenges. Finding candidates with the right skills is the biggest challenge for 31 per cent of Australian businesses. As such, remote companies are leaning more towards hiring freelancers, with 48 per cent looking for freelance or contractor talent in the last year as their workforce grew, in comparison to only 40 per cent of office-based businesses.

Other challenges noted include managing compliance issues with international labour laws (74 per cent), managing remote teams (78 per cent), increased costs associated with remote technology implementation (75 per cent), assessing cultural fit of remote candidates (77 per cent), and receiving AI-generated resumes with false information (77 per cent).

“We have only just begun writing the playbook on remote work and will need to work together to identify and tackle these challenges,” explains Job van der Voort, CEO and co-founder at Remote. “This data echoes what we hear from many of our customers – the benefits of flexible and remote work far exceed the challenges. We believe that distributed work is paving the way to a more successful, balanced and fair business world and are committed to helping other companies in adopting flexible work and attract great talent from everywhere.”

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In 2024, global air freight costs have already risen by 12 per cent while container rates have surged by a staggering 233 per cent. Simultaneously, consumer spending remains muted as households tighten their belts amid rising living costs and ongoing economic uncertainty. With little relief on the horizon, businesses must adopt strategies that maximize efficiency, maintain competitiveness, and protect profitability during this critical period.

Adding to the pressure, wage growth is outpacing productivity, contributing to a tight labour market and operational challenges throughout the supply chain. Businesses are now faced with the task of managing overburdened staff, rising recruitment and training costs, and the need to sustain operational efficiency.
Given these mounting challenges, early planning is crucial. Businesses must adopt tools and strategies that enable them to adapt swiftly to changing conditions. Below are five key strategies to help businesses navigate the peak season and emerge stronger on the other side.

1. Embrace automation
   2024 has underscored the importance of efficiency, especially with the rapid advancements in AI. Investing in automation software, such as FreightExchange, to consolidate orders and streamline processes can significantly reduce time and increase productivity. Although the initial investment may be higher, the long-term benefits – such as improved visibility over charges, operating costs, and deliveries – will pay dividends during peak season. Leveraging cutting-edge technologies can help your business better manage unexpected events, labour shortages, and rising operational costs.
2. Strategically reposition inventory
   Positioning inventory closer to customers well before peak season can greatly reduce last-minute delivery costs and ensure faster deliveries when they matter most. Restocking inventory or repositioning goods early means you can wait until you have a full load to capitalise on cost savings. This strategy not only optimises your logistics but also helps counteract the impact of rising shipping costs.
3. Leverage cost-effective transport alternatives
   Preparing for peak season now gives you ample time to explore slower, more cost-effective transport options. Opt for rail over road transport and sea freight instead of expedited air freight services where possible. This approach can help offset the sharp increases in container and air freight costs, enabling you to maintain competitive pricing for your customers.
4. Optimise offshore operations
   If lead times allow, consider having your offshore suppliers handle the order picking and packing process. This can reduce the need for additional onshore staff in an environment where labour is scarce, addressing both the labour shortage and rising wage costs.
5. Capitalise on favourable export conditions
   With the USD at an all-time high, Australian producers have an opportunity to find US customers and benefit from advantageous export conditions. Exporting to the US at scale isn’t a quick win, but you can take small steps now to sell in the US and help offset potential declines in domestic consumer spending and open up new revenue streams for your business.

Turning challenges into opportunities

The transport and supply chain bottlenecks caused during peak are always challenging. That’s why careful planning and strategic decision-making can turn these obstacles into opportunities. By focusing on efficiency, optimising inventory, choosing cost-effective transportation, and seizing export opportunities, your business can navigate the peak season successfully and emerge stronger on the other side.

The post Five critical considerations for your business before peak season appeared first on Inside Small Business.

Electricity disruptions pose a critical challenge for small businesses. Many rely on dependable power to sustain productivity and customer service levels, such as retail, healthcare and professional services. Estimates from insights agency Gartner indicate that unplanned disruptions can cost small businesses $5,600 per minute. Meanwhile, a report by CISCO digital resilience agency Splunk found that blackout-induced downtime can cost businesses millions.

In response to the AEMO report, protection solutions company PSS Distributors announced the launch of their advanced UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) systems. The advanced systems aim to protect small businesses from downtime and data loss during power outages. They feature automatic voltage regulation and battery backup, which transition businesses to backup power at the first sign of disruption.

“Our UPS systems are essential for small businesses navigating unpredictable power reliability,” says Terrence Daniel, General Manager at PSS Distributors. “They are designed to maintain business operations smoothly during outages, safeguarding against the costly impacts of downtime and protecting critical data.”

Daniel urged business to consider a range of strategies for dealing with outages. This could include diversifying power sources, adopting cloud-based backup solutions, and special employee training. Small-business owners might also consider installing health and safety measures like surge protection and emergency lighting.

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