About 97 per cent of businesses in Australia are small businesses and a significant portion of these are made up of freelancers and sole traders.

Yet these types of businesses barely rate a mention in the ongoing political and economic conversation.

Trends suggest sole trader and freelancer numbers are on the rise, and they are becoming a force to be reckoned with in the business and political landscape. According to the latest ABS data, there was a 2.4% per cent increase in sole proprietors in 2023-24, bringing the total number up to 803,607 sole traders in total. 

Sole traders are important contributors

Though these non-employing businesses don’t directly create jobs, they contribute a diverse range of goods and services to consumers, directly boost their local economies, create diversity in the market, and bolster innovation and entrepreneurialism. Small businesses, which include sole trader and freelance businesses, add an estimated half a trillion dollars to Australia’s economy, making up a third of its GDP in total.

As more companies enforce return-to-office policies, Australian workers are choosing to strike out on their own for a chance to be their own boss and enjoy freedom away from the traditional 9-5 work model.

Technology plays a role in this, with a range of tools arming professional workers with fully remote capabilities and leaving them with the power to choose more interesting and challenging work, more time to spend with their loved ones, and greater flexibility to apply their skills in a way that is fulfilling to them.

Why are sole traders left out of the conversation?

The benefits of being self employed often come with a slew of challenges, which are made more difficult by the lack of specialised support for freelancers and sole traders alone. Despite their growing numbers, sole traders and freelancers are still being routinely left out while small businesses and corporations take centre stage. 

This is evident in the way sole traders are barely acknowledged when it comes to the raft of initiatives being rolled out to support SMEs and the way policymakers create legislation with larger entities in mind. Plenty of grants and programs exist to nurture the growth of SMEs, but few are specific to sole traders and freelancers.

At the same time this agile and independent workforce are facing increased scrutiny from the ATO thanks to the actions of a few bad actors. Sole traders don’t enjoy the same level of representation or advocacy that bigger business entities do, but they still have to navigate the same amount of administrative work and red tape to run their business. From onerous tax obligations and insurance requirements to invoicing and chasing payments, the bureaucratic burdens fall heavily on the shoulders of solo businesses. 

This heightened scrutiny comes with a side of ATO court action over unpaid debts as the organisation firmly sets its sights on everyone from pure sole traders to those with a side job or two looking to make ends meet due to cost of living pressures. Compliance with rigorous accounting standards and managing cash flow is tough for businesses of any size, but it’s especially tough on sole traders who are forced to wear many different hats in the course of running their business.

More needs to be done

As more Australians turn to independent work, more needs to be done to create a network that recognises and supports their unique challenges and contributions. With this there are plenty of opportunities for both business and government to take the lead. The good news is rising awareness of this cohort will take us closer to realising the untapped potential of freelancers and sole traders, sooner rather than later.

The post Why are sole traders ignored by legislation? They need help too appeared first on Inside Small Business.

Fiverr also noted that Australians in general are taking advantage of the demand for their expertise, especially in the aforementioned fields, as they enter into side hustles in a big way to combat cost-of-living pressures.

Globally, AI services have seen a huge spike in demand, as the understanding of the benefits and efficiencies of AI have become more apparent to more businesses. According to the Index, searches on Fiverr for ‘AI influencer’ have skyrocketed by 6305 per cent. Inquiries for ‘AI SaaS’ – a combination of artificial intelligence and software-as-a-service – have grown by 1461 per cent and searches for ‘AI chatbot’ have increased by 85 per cent, all signs that businesses across the world are harnessing the power of AI to enable market progression.

“After a turbulent year, the Australian economy grew in December 2023 and those green shoots are reflected in the way businesses are using Fiverr,” Matti Yahav, Chief Marketing Officer at Fiverr, commented. “Searches show that they are harnessing the power of skilled freelancers to drive their business forward, especially in the areas of AI, eCommerce and social media marketing. And, with the cost-of-living crisis still very present, it’s clear that innovative Aussies are using their skills to make an additional income through freelancing.”

The Index found that Fiverr searches indicate that businesses are seeking skilled freelancers who will help them in their social media campaigns, with a particular focus on Google or Facebook ad campaigns and website SEO. Fiverr says that freelancers with these skills can earn up to $2000 per project due to the increase in demand.

The Index also noted an upward trend in eCommerce investment, with Shopify becoming the go-to platform for small businesses. Searches for expert freelancers in Shopify design and marketing on Fiverr have notably increased, reflecting this growing trend. Freelancers with these skills can earn up to $3000 per project, underscoring eCommerce as a lucrative avenue for them.

In addition, the Index found that Australians continue to capitalise on side hustles to supplement their income. The skills required by businesses from side hustles are varied, from female voiceover work to proofreading and wedding video editing, which the report notes is an indication of the breadth of the potential for continued growth in this area.

The post AI, eCommerce and marketing freelancers in greater demand appeared first on Inside Small Business.

The research found that Australian freelancers charge an average price of $594.56 for a job. Australia was also found to be the most expensive country to hire a freelancer for creative writing, web programming, or mobile app development projects.

India is ranked second globally with its freelancers charging at an average price of $501 per job. They were also ranked as the most expensive freelancing country for data entry, at an average price of $75.92 per job. 

Morocco ranks third with an average freelancer rate of $402.03 per job, followed by Saudi Arabia, with an average rate of $401.64 per job, and Turkey, with a cost of $393.88 per job.  

At the other end of the scale, Columbia has the least expensive freelancers, costing an average of $72.13 per job or 87 per cent less than hiring an Australian freelancer on average. Brazil comes in second with an average rate of $79.81 per freelancing job, while Argentina ranked third least expensive with an average cost of $80.84.

“Our team members come from various corners of the world – Asia, Africa, Europe, and America – and their life stories and experiences contribute to our team’s richness,” Tim Lee, CEO and founder of Bookipi, said. “Working closely together has taught me an immense amount about appreciating different cultures. As a result, we were interested in how these different experiences are reflected through the costs of freelance workers worldwide.”

Bookipi based its findings on data gathered from the freelancing platform Upwork to find how much freelancers in 40 different countries charge on average per job. They looked at several popular services, including logo design, video editing, and data entry, with the starting and end price collected for each service in each country and an average price overall was calculated.  

“Typically, countries with robust economies and high living standards tend to host the most expensive freelancers, which the data reflects by finding Australia as the most expensive freelance country,” Lee said. “Although this is true for India, the second country to appear in the ranking, freelancers can command a higher rate thanks to their specialised skills and expertise in industries such as software development, IT services, and digital marketing.

“We hope this ranking will help empower freelance workers around the world to know their worth and be more confident in fairly pricing their services,” Lee concluded.

The post Research reveals Australia has the most expensive freelancers in the world appeared first on Inside Small Business.

Like every decision, there are pros and cons of taking on either salaried employees or independent contractors (aka freelancers with their own ABN).

The key to making the right decision for your business is being crystal clear about what you want to achieve:

1. What skills do you need?
   When managed well, taking on additional labour is an exciting leap from one-person show to becoming a viable business. Yet recruiting can also create myriad of distractions for an emerging entrepreneur.
   The key is to stick to a plan: your business plan.
   
   Every business plan should include an outline of the skills required to sustain business growth. If yours doesn’t, now is a golden chance to draft this statement and clearly define exactly what skills are needed to complement your own strengths and sustain business growth.
   
2. How many people do you need?
   Having established what skills are needed, the next step is to really scrutinise whether any one person possesses them all. With growth typically comes a need for deeper knowledge and more advanced skills. For instance, simple bookkeeping often grows into the need for a qualified accountant.
   
   Determine how many hours per week you need to invest in those skills – both now and in the short to medium term. Facing the problem of “not enough hours in the day” may be a sign you need specialist expertise in multiple fields on a part-time basis, rather than a jack-of-all-trades full-time.
   
3. When is the right time to expand your workforce?
   Don’t be lulled into think the step of first establishing a start-up was the end of your risk-taking. That was just the start. Remember: expansion of resources is essential to maintain the momentum of business growth. That includes labour.
   
   There is a natural comfort in doing everything yourself. But once others – especially customers – recognise you don’t have enough hours in the day, the time to let go and recruit is now.
   Allow yourself the space to do what you do best and outsource the rest.
   
4. What is available?
   Knowing what you need and when, now comes researching what support services are feasibly available. There are many services open to small businesses that will free you, the entrepreneur, to focus on growing your business. And if you can get more customers or grow your revenues, you can afford to invest in additional resources.
   
   Once you begin looking at what services are available, you may be pleasantly surprised at the opportunities on offer to free you of the distractions from doing what you do best – from outsourced accounting to administration and inventory support.
   
5. Which way to go?
   Only with steps one to four complete should you really focus on the original question – whether to hire freelancers or employees.
   
   • Freelancers: What is your business’ value proposition? How much time are other tasks detracting you from that? This is where freelancers can be most valuable: outsourcing back-office tasks or gaining specialist skills at better value. The risk, however, can be a lack of commitment to your business.
   • Salaried staff: Having employees on the payroll allows you to align skilled people with your core value proposition, build your corporate skills, fostering key relationships, and creating your company culture. They buy into your vision on the promise of growing their career and, if your business success, sharing in the rewards. The risk comes in them replicating your core product or service elsewhere.

Like most business decisions, recruitment can be high risk/high return. Delivering high returns boils down to hiring the right people at the right time – and for the right purpose.

The post Freelancers or salaried staff? How to determine your hiring needs appeared first on Inside Small Business.

Investing in help as needed, or finding permanent talent to fill a gap is a tough decision to make, and it all comes down to a balance of time, energy, capacity, and future goals.

Outsourcing

As opposed to the long-term investment that comes with a permanent team member, outsourcing is a great option for small businesses and start-ups.

Like a “professional fling”, outsourcing is “no-strings-attached” and can deliver a stronger return, faster, with instant gratification and no future obligation.

The pros of outsourcing in an SME

When is the best time to consider a contractor or freelancer?

• You have a one-off project
• It’s not part of your core business model
• Can be carried out remotely
• Requires an expert’s touch with a specific skill set
• When you need to delegate small tasks are taking up valuable time

Why outsourcing isn’t always the best option for SME

You’re up against

• Competing with the freelancer’s other client base
• Having less control over their process or work produced
• Needing to give more communication and oversight
• Relying on others to deliver on tim

With this in mind, “dating around” by hiring experts on an as-needed basis is ideal for brands in their infancy looking for small-scale support on a one-off project.

Are you better off hiring?

Sometimes it pays to put your trust into hiring someone with core essential skills. But beware, unlike short-term outsourcing, hiring is a long-term commitment just like a marriage. It requires extra attention, communication, working through issues, and an investment into the longer-term outcome.

The long game strategy to onboarding staff:

• Improves efficiency and reliability.
• Reduce overheads long-term (as employees are more cost effective than one-off freelancers).
• Instill greater consumer retention and customer satisfaction.
• Can be trained to overseas many facets of your SME.
• Allow you freedom to take time out.

What you are up against :

• Takes a longer time to see a return.
• Require more attention and training in the early stages before efficiency is improved.
• You can become dependant on the support.
• Harder to break ties if you’re not happy.

Taking it all into account, making the commitment to invite someone into your business takes the same care and consideration as inviting someone into your personal life.

Questions to ask, things to remember

Before making the big decision, consider the following:

• Is the cost of hiring, training, onboarding, and committing to one hire worth it for the current and near future plans?
• Do you have the time and energy to wear all the hats required as an employer and be responsible for another mouth to feed?
• Is there enough ongoing work and  potential for the business to grow?

Are you ready for the commitment? Or are your current business needs more suited to diversifying?

It all comes down to an intricate balance of understanding what needs and goals can be met, and by whom. Whether it’s your life partner, a long-term employee, a variety of love interests, or a small Rolodex of freelancers, commitment comes with responsibility and sometimes it’s just not in the best interests of your SME to commit.

The post The ultimate test to settle the “hire or outsource” debate appeared first on Inside Small Business.

The report specifically noted that freelancers that are knowledgeable about YouTube monetisation and Google Analytics are the most in-demand freelancers in the country.

In full, the top 10 freelancers in demand this year and their corresponding demand growth from last year are as follows:

• Youtube monetisation experts; 120 per cent growth.
• Google Analytic experts; 94 per cent growth.
• SEO services for Shopify; 93 per cent growth.
• vTubers; 88 per cent growth.
• Website content creators; 83 per cent growth.
• Social media content; 63 per cent growth.
• Australian voice over talent; 49 per cent growth.
• Social media management; 44 per cent growth.
• Video editors; 39 per cent growth.
• Instagram Infuencer marketing; 16 per cent growth.

Research firm McKinsey previously predicted early this year that 2021 would see a rise in non-conventional businesses, and ways of working to match, which Fiverr notes lines up with their findings.

In 2020 Fiverr’s Small Business Needs Index reported that Australians were turning their passions into profits and taking their businesses online, with strong demand for Shopify experts. In 2021, Fiverr noted that Australians are now analysing the fruits of last year’s labour and are building on the successes this has brought.

“As businesses continue to invest in their success online, there is an immense opportunity for professionals who are skilled in these trending service areas to offer their work and enhance earnings with some Fiverr freelancers earning as much as $120k a year in additional income,” Peggy de Lange, Fiverr’s VP of International Expansion, said.

The Fiverr Small Business Needs Index analyses data from millions of searches across Fiverr in predicting what’s trending and what areas small businesses are seeking support.

The post Digital natives helping small businesses in the post-pandemic world appeared first on Inside Small Business.

Also in high demand are business planning services that require the services of freelancers with C-suite and senior finance experience and high-level business qualifications. Based on searches for “Business Name” and “Business Plan” demand is up 89 per cent and 29 per cent respectively, supporting the notion that businesses are migrating online, or starting out online.

The Fiverr Small Business Needs Index analysed data from millions of searches across the platform to predict what’s important, what’s trending and what areas small businesses are seeking support. It shows that 37 per cent of Aussies are considering freelancing, 56 per cent of them motivated by their experience of COVID-19. Similarly, 20 per cent expressed interest in changing their job to something they were more passionate about.

Separate data from ASIC also noted that 237,994 new businesses registered in Australia in 2020; 12,873 more than the year prior, despite the economic and societal challenges imposed by the pandemic.

“People have become aware of the lifestyle benefits tied to being their own boss and starting their own ventures,” Peggy de Lange, VP of International Expansion at Fiverr, said. “However, with this comes the need for specialised digital support to help bring ideas to life. Navigating the digital world for the first time is daunting, and new business entrepreneurs can sometimes be overwhelmed by the amount of specialised expertise they may not have.”

The post Ecommerce experts and business planners in high demand among SMEs appeared first on Inside Small Business.