What are the key concerns for SMEs?

The first edition of Astute Ability Finance Group’s Small Business Owners Report August 2024 – NSW edition has highlighted the challenges, needs, and opportunities from the small business sector.

The report collected responses from small- to medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners, with several key themes emerging in regard to their concerns.

Those key concerns included:

• Funding for growth – the report found that business owners are struggling to secure affordable funds from banking brands and identified a need from SME owners for cheaper rates in order to grow their business and staff and acquire the necessary equipment.

• Government regulation – according to the report’s findings, there is confusion between federal and state, taxes increasing operational costs, penalty rates, and general barriers in poor communication.

• Employee availability and wages – business owners expressed concern over labour, skilled workers in more physical operations, and restrictive pay rates in peak trading hours.

Mhairi MacLeod, founder and managing director of Astute Ability Group, said: “My team and I deal with thousands of business owners and many are still feeling the financial reputational impact from COVID that has left many with P&L statements that can make approval for finance tricky.

“The industry needs the support of decision-makers to assist [with] getting lending flowing and that generally means the smaller more agile lenders and fintechs.”

MacLeod said that SMEs suffer from “no protection for bad debts, rising costs and no cost-effective funding to get better equipment and technology”.

“Perhaps better tax breaks for trucks and equipment plus cyber security upgrades. In my recent experiences there is an increase in new lines of credit and cash flow finance in response to the SME owner’s challenges,” MacLeod said.

“The team have daily personal interactions with SME business owners, so we are often privy to the intimate concerns of this important sector. Small-business owners are feeling challenged by rising costs, poor access to affordable funding and training support.”

Additionally, the report highlighted several key priorities for SME owners to have long-term sustainability in the sector.

Those included:

• New equipment, vehicles, tools of trade, improved shopfront – this was a priority for many sectors, according to the report.

• Training and benefits – the report identified that there are issues with promotion of the opportunities in training despite there being a number of state and federal training programs.

• Developing an online presence and sales – Many non-traditional businesses are looking for expertise and support to develop an online presence.

[RELATED: SMEs are ‘embracing’ long-term loan benefits]

Adrian Suljanovic is a journalist at Broker Daily with more than two years experience reporting on all facets of the third party distribution channel.

Adrian has written for a range of business and finance titles including IFA, Investor Daily and Lawyer’s Weekly before joining the mortgages team in 2022.

He graduated from the University of Wollongong in 2021 gaining a Bachelor of Communication & Media with a major in Digital & Social Media.

E-mail Adrian at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.