Small Business
Rebranding can be difficult at the best of times. Companies fear losing recognition, customer retention and brand loyalty. With this in mind, rebranding during a global pandemic, when customers are far and few between? Seemingly impossible. That is what business entrepreneur Rebecca Klodinsky took on when she rebranded her swimwear company Frankii Swim to IIXIIST […]
From working in a fish and chip shop to owning a global award-winning skincare company, these two high school mates are on the fast track to commanding the beauty industry. Entrepreneurs Manny Barbas and James Hachem founded the skincare company Alya Skin in 2018. Since then they have turned over $20 million, selling to 500,000 […]
Melbourne hospitality businesses are banding together to create a service which provides food to their workers who are doing it tough. The COVID-19 Employee Assistance Directive (COVID-19 EAD) was created in the wake of the collapse of the hospitality industry due to the coronavirus pandemic. One of the founding members of the initiative is Iain […]
The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell has called on the Victorian Government to cover the costs associated with small business closures, with tough trading restrictions to remain in place until the end of October, at the earliest. In announcing his Government’s much-anticipated steps to easing the nation’s strictest lockdown, Premier Daniel […]
Tenants who received rent relief under the COVID-19 mandatory code of conduct will continue to receive concessions for at least six months after October 2020. Last week, the NSW Supreme Court found that luxury footwear retailer, Sneakerboy, will have until 30 April 2021 before its landlord can increase rent or evict it. What relief do […]
Industrial relations changes have been critical in helping small business employers keep their doors open and staff on their payroll throughout the pandemic. The flexibilities that apply to employers on the JobKeeper wage subsidy, particularly small to medium-sized enterprises, give them the ability to change their duties, their total number of ordinary hours, days and […]
Business Australia reported that 6 out of 10 Australian SMEs reported sales losses up to 75 per cent this year. Only 18 per cent reported consistent revenue and a mere 9 per cent experienced a growth in sales during the pandemic. Richard Spencer, Chief Customer Experience Officer at Business Australia, offers a list of suggestions […]
People who live in New South Wales and South Australia but work in Victoria are now eligible for a $1,500 Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment if they need to self-isolate or quarantine due to COVID-19. The Australian Government announced on 28 August the extension of the payment Victorian’s are currently receiving, to people who do not […]
Premier Daniel Andrews will release his reopening roadmap for Victoria this Sunday, September 6th. In a statement released today, the Victorian Government has said they will release their plan to reopen the state from Stage 4 lockdown, aiming to provide certainty and clarity for the people and businesses within the state. This announcement comes as […]
47 per cent of small to medium enterprises expect salary increases to be frozen for at least 12 months, according to a new study from ACA research. It is positive to see that the proportion of SMEs reporting a decline in revenue has decreased from 78 per cent to 67 per cent last month. Consequently, […]
Jackie Vullinghs is a Principal at Airtree Ventures who invests in areas such as health, fintech, cybersecurity and AI. She studied history at Cambridge University and then had a diverse and fascinating career in investment banking and start-ups. She moved to Australia in 2017, bringing a wealth of knowledge in fintech, leadership and personal publishing. […]
NSW small businesses have less than a week left to apply for the Small Business Recovery Grant. The Grant was opened up to small businesses who employ less than 20 full-time staff to help meet the costs of safely reopening or up-scaling operations. Small businesses which meet the eligibility criteria may claim between $500 and $3000 to help create COVID-19 […]
ANZ today launched a new digital lending platform to provide a conditional $200,000 to small businesses in unsecured lending in as little as 20 minutes if they share their Accounting Software Platform. Developed in partnership with DemystData – an external data marketplace – ANZ Online Business Lending syncs with Accounting Software Platforms (ASPs) Xero, QuickBooks […]
The Victorian Essential Services Commission announced this week that it will introduce new mandatory requirements for energy retailers to provide “reasonable” assistance to small businesses in “financial distress” and support for residential customers. On 24 August, the commission released temporary coronavirus pandemic requirements to assist small businesses and residential customers in Victoria on top of […]
Recent data from Telsyte has shown that nearly half (45 per cent) of Australian organisations are looking to increase cloud infrastructure spending in 2020, and 46 per cent of Australian businesses now have ‘cloud first’ policies when it comes to making new investments. Murray Dickson is the Director of Sales Enterprise (South Pacific) at CommScope, […]
The Morrison Government has announced they will invest $1 billion into the Australian defence industry to help create jobs in SMEs and stimulate the economy. In his announcement, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the package is estimated to support around 4,000 jobs across Australia and help many small and medium sized businesses in the defence-industry […]
The NSW government has unveiled a $45 million grant program for small businesses and not-for-profits affected by the NSW and Victorian border closure. Eligible businesses along the NSW and Victorian border can apply for the Southern Border Small Business Support Grant from 8 September to 18 October 2020 via the Service NSW website. Premier Gladys […]
While the small business sector has been hit dramatically by the effects of COVID-19, they may also be our ticket out of economic distress. Small and medium sized businesses employ 4.8 million Australians (44 per cent) and are a major GDP contributor (57 percent). Employment growth in small businesses accounted for approximately 60 per cent […]
This article was guest authored by Mark Lenhard, CEO of Invoice2go. The past few months have presented some of the toughest challenges many Australian small business owners and contractors have, and perhaps will ever, face. From extended lockdowns and social distancing restrictions to customer disruption and economic hardship, much of the small business community’s attention […]
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has accused Google of releasing “misinformation” about the Federal Government’s plan to make them bargain with Australian news companies over payments for news content. Last month the ACCC delivered a draft code of conduct (the draft News Media Bargaining Code) governing bargaining between Google, Facebook and news media […]
