4 minute read
Reed Gift Fairs Speaker Series: Kate Carnell
There's never been a better time to shop local and buy Australian
Meet Kate Carnell AO, the independent advocate for Australian small business owners. Kate’s office works to bring together the many voices within the small business community to promote growth in an absolutely vital sector of our industry.
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There’s never been a better time to shop local and buy Australian. Small businesses have been hit hard by the pandemic and those swept up in Victoria’s second wave are under enormous pressure right now.
Amid all of the bad news though, there is a glimmer of hope – particularly for retailers. That is, more Australians are wanting to buy local.
Visits to the Australian Made website have soared in recent months. Facebook likes for the campaign have skyrocketed and Instagram and Twitter followers have grown exponentially.
A recently released survey of more than 1000 Australians conducted on behalf of NBN Co, revealed close to half (49%) of respondents had increased their online shopping during the pandemic shutdown period and 70% have been consciously supporting local businesses online.
But more than two thirds of those surveyed, said even though they would like to support more local businesses, they were restricted by the limited digital presence.
It’s clear that small retailers can no longer rely on outdated business models and bricks-and-mortar stores. Digitisation is now essential for small businesses to be truly competitive. This includes having a social media strategy that effectively targets the customer base.
The recent Buy from the Bush campaign is an excellent example – in just four months the 275 regional businesses profiled saw an average revenue increase of 300%. The campaign delivered $5 million to those featured small businesses – all of which had an online presence.
PwC modelling estimates small businesses could unlock more than $49 billion of private sector output over a decade by adopting better use of mobile and internet technologies. More than half of that benefit could be realised in rural and regional Australia.
From our experience, the most common roadblock to digital adoption has been not knowing where to start.
There are a number of online workshops that offer good tips to small businesses. In particular, my office has supported the free Grow with Google sessions that cover everything from managing
your business remotely to helping your business stand out online.
One that springs to mind is a wool manufacturer on the Gold Coast that specialises in making UGG boots. When flights from China stopped earlier this year, they were among the first wave of small businesses hit by the COVID crisis. Their trade dropped 95% overnight and being several months out from
the Australian winter – they were on the brink. They were worried about their staff, concerned about their overheads and had next to no sales. Their dramatic turnaround happened after posting on a Facebook group called “Australian Made products” – which has over 1 million members. Within a couple of hours of that post, the orders started streaming in. That post resonated because many just assumed their UGG boots were made in Australia. The reality is only 4% of UGG boots are made here in Australia and UGG Since 1974 is one of the only Australian manufacturers.
Just recently, there were reports of an IGA store on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland with the genius idea of putting new “Australian Owned” shelf labels on products.
Maleny Supa IGA shared photos of the ‘wobbler’ labels on Facebook to show its support for Australian owned businesses.
The social media post sparked calls by shoppers for the major supermarkets – Woolworths and Coles - to follow suit.
It’s been fantastic to see such a groundswell of support for Australian Made products in this crisis and I hope it continues well after this difficult period is over.
Aside from using this time to ensure your business has an online presence, I would encourage all small businesses, to make a plan. Sit down with a trusted, accredited financial adviser and make a plan that is tailored to your business.
It’s absolutely critical that small businesses are considering the future now and how they will not only survive the challenges they are facing now, but also thinking about what happens when JobKeeper ends and there is a return to paying bills, loans and rent.
For those small business owners experiencing financial stress, the sooner they seek professional advice, the better the outcome will be.
Finally, it’s very important for small business owners to look after their mental health. There is support available if you need it. Visiting My Business Health on our ASBFEO website is an excellent starting point.
Small businesses are the engine room of the economy; it’s a big reputation to live up to, so we need to do all we can to ensure they have the freedom to innovate, employ and thrive well into the future.
