Australian small business owners to skip sleep this Christmas

Almost three in five small business owners will skip sleep and family time over Christmas due to business pressures.

by | 27 Nov, 2018

Efficiency important in productivity equation

A Westpac report based on a survey of 500 Australian small businesses, conducted in collaboration with Deloitte, has revealed that local small business owners will forgo their personal wellbeing in favour of work this December.

Some 63 per cent won’t have a chance to relax and wind down over the holiday season, while 58 per cent will miss out on spending time with family and friends.

The report shows that female small business owners are more likely to make sacrifices for their company, with a total 34 per cent of women willing to wave their salary compared with 27 per cent of men.

“We know that many small businesses are doing it tough and making significant sacrifices to keep their business running over Christmas,” Ganesh Chandrasekkar, general manager of SME banking at Westpac, said.

“In addition to sacrificing their wellbeing, small businesses are spending up to one working day every week chasing invoices”, Mr Chandrasekkar added.

Another burden for small business owners is paperwork, with many dedicating up to 12 hours each week to compliance and regulatory tasks.

Despite the challenges, Mr Chandrasekkar said the report highlights that over one-third of businesses feel positive about the Christmas season.

He pointed out that the most profitable businesses are driving revenue growth through improvements and introducing new products and services.

“We found the businesses that experienced growth in sales, profitability and productivity were those that are ‘innovation active’,” Mr Chandrasekkar said.

“They tend to put effort into significantly improving their operations or offering new goods and services, and considering the big picture rather than the day to day of running a business.”

As 2019 approaches, despite challenges such as the federal elections and lacklustre consumer demand, the outlook for small businesses remains positive, he added.

“Employment growth is expected to remain quite strong, with continuing above-average investment in private and public infrastructure, competitive assistance from a lower Australian dollar is expected to continue along with rising exports and solid population growth,” Mr Chandrasekkar concluded.

“These are positive signs to help boost the confidence in small businesses so they can help drive our nation forward.”

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