A helping hand for struggling small businesses

The electrical industry in Australia is characterised by sole traders, family, micro and small businesses, which face daily challenges involved in running a company in difficult times.

The electrical industry is not the only industry facing challenges. Australia has around two million small to medium enterprises (SMEs), accounting for more than 95% of all businesses based in the country, according to ABS data. These SMEs employ more than five million people, which is around half of all private sector employment, and export more than a billion dollars’ worth of goods per year, according to the data.

Despite these facts and the importance of small business to the Australian economy, we have never had a national SME Association like other countries, until now.

In October, the SME Association of Australia (SMEAA) was launched. This new industry body representing Australian SMEs, is designed to complement, rather than compete with, trade associations.

The Australian electrical industry is continually changing as new technologies and new legislations force businesses to constantly evolve and adapt. The SME Association is not an expert in this or any other trade, so look to partner with bodies that fulfil this need. The association is, however, an expert in the issues that face small businesses across different industry sectors.

SMEAA is a national not-for-profit (NFP) company, which reinvests profits to develop resources to benefit members and has a very clear mission: to provide services that will help members connect with each other and with big business, locally and internationally, to help them grow and succeed, create sustainability, jobs and, ultimately, a prosperous healthy nation.

Rather than taking a government lobbying role, the association is focused solely on giving small businesses access to the benefits that big businesses have. These include: free legal, human resources, marketing and accounting advice, events and training that can prove very costly on an ad hoc basis.

Having worked in, and run, a number of small businesses in the health sector myself, and knowing a lot of business owners, I know finding good advice is really hard and time-consuming. SMEAA will be able to put small businesses in touch with qualified professionals, so they don’t have to waste time looking around or waste money talking to the wrong people.

The association will also offer a central resource centre to provide small businesses up-to-date information on any government announcements that affect them and potential opportunities such as tax breaks or grants. A number of SMEs miss out or find it hard to comply with current legislation because they don’t have the time to keep themselves updated.

Other benefits that members of the SME Association will receive include the opportunity to save costs through group buying initiatives. For example, if a number of electrical contractors in a certain region wish to undertake some training, they can come together to pay for a top trainer for the day, a service that would be prohibitively expensive otherwise. The association will also provide an easy-to-use events directory that will help its members find relevant industry events by visiting a single website.

One major challenge is the rapid and continuous changes in technology. The last 12 months alone have seen social, mobile and cloud technologies not only change the face of business but also level the playing field. Consumers are now using digital tools to seek services, pay for services and recommend suppliers or products. Small businesses have to adapt to remain competitive and meet market demands. To help SMEs make the most of this new landscape, the association can put them in touch with specialists and offer e-learning support.

Our country has an ageing population and we are entering a period of mass retirement. The association is very keen to welcome retired entrepreneurs as important members, many of whom need to work or want to work. This group has particular needs, but also has important skills and knowledge in their chosen industry. The association wants to capture this knowledge and help older business-people keep their skills updated.

Another issue Australia will soon face, due to the mass retirement of the baby boomer generation and the attraction of the number of lucrative jobs in the resources sector, is a skills shortage. Training and development needs are a constant headache for employers and sole traders and some of the associationÂ’s services will address this.

In the electrical industry, the carbon tax, a general trend toward greener business products and services and the rise of energy conscious customers will be a major driver of change. This is seen as a burden as well as an opportunity for small and medium businesses. For example, I recently spoke to a colleague who is excited about his new small business and the opportunity to bring easy, efficient solutions to companies with an energy bill of $4000 to $100,000 a year. The aim of having a cleaner Australia, improved energy efficiency and increasing sustainability, with a focus on productivity and innovation, is a good vision for the country. The challenge remains: how to help small and medium enterprises understand climate change, access information and grants and be convinced that they can be supported in preparing for the carbon tax and still stay in business and better still, grow and prosper through research and development and innovation.

Separately, SMEAA is also interested in working with small businesses run by migrants and women, as these groups represent a significant proportion of the SME sector. There are a number of highly qualified migrants who struggle to find employment and an increasing number of women entering the trades or setting up small home-run businesses. For anyone setting up their own business for the first time, it is a daunting prospect to get your head around all aspects of establishing and running a company. Many are highly skilled in their trade but not in human resources, finance or marketing. The association hopes to help these people to prosper by making their lives just a little bit easier and helping them save time and money.

SMEAA membership is open to sole traders, small and medium sized enterprises, corporate partners, government bodies, associations, NFP organisations, SME suppliers and future business people, such as school and university students.

The associationÂ’s goal is to reach 10,000 new members by the end of 2012 and 50,000 by 2017, and to encourage everyone to get on board, they’re offering a special foundation member annual fee of $55.00 until 30 June 2012. The more members join up, the bigger the benefits the association can offer to help small businesses - the backbone of the Australian economy - to survive and thrive.

SME Association of Australia

http://www.smeaustralia.asn.au/

*Dr Caroline Hong is the inaugural CEO of the SME Association of Australia. She has more than 20 years’ experience in leadership roles covering health, business events, exhibitions, boards and association management. Dr Hong started her career as a dental surgeon, graduating from the University of Adelaide, and then went on to acquire postgraduate business qualifications in Health Administration from the University of South Australia and the University of New South Wales. She has further supplementary qualifications from the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and Meetings Events Australia (MEA).