Plan for future to aid business agility

Small business is the engine room of Australia, we’re told. It is agile and can cope with change more readily than corporations. Small business employs 80 per cent of Australia’s workforce.

Statements like this regularly roll off the tongue of industry leaders and others, but what about resilience in times of global crises?

To be agile, small business has to be prepared to embrace discomfort, push boundaries, move through fear, and be confident. No different than when we aren’t confronting a crisis.

Business advisers always suggest a written business plan because it causes the potential owner to confront the harsh reality of management, cash flow, threats, growth and future prospects.

When these things are examined honestly and committed to paper, lots of daydreams come crashing to earth. Sadly, less than half of local businesses have such a plan.

Many of those that struggled during the global financial crisis have used all their reserves, and most haven’t had the chance to rebuild those reserves.

The build-up of competition has been relentless. The early days of being able to charge high prices because of the attraction to our area have faded. The tourism bubble has burst with COVID-19. Even in the good times, tourism could not sustain 16 coffee shops. Local folks who’ve lost their jobs are hunkering down, and as in the GFC, counting pennies and curbing the urge to spend on non-essentials. If 80 per cent of your income was coming from visitors and there’s no visitors now, who you gonna call?

Government is treading precariously with financial support. While that might be good in the short-term, the resources for that support come from taxes, which are dwindling.

Some people like to say that we’re heading for a new normal. That may be true. So, let me add my own take on the new normal.

I’d like people to recognise that Margaret River is just a country town. We struggle with a lot of the same issues that all of our regional towns face. Our internet speeds leave a lot to be desired. We compete with tourists for parking and we expect the services of an urban suburb without any concept of what that really costs. Our rates and petrol prices are too high, and most available jobs are casual and part-time.

I’d like people to stop bagging the “multi-nationals”. We actually have only one multi-national business in this town and it isn’t what you think. However, we do have several nationally based businesses that have branches or franchises here, and all provide local jobs.

I’d like business owners to rethink their value proposition and do some prudent cost-cutting accompanied by smart investment in their own future. It’s not too late to write a business plan of sorts and to think what your business future might look like post COVID-19.

I’d like business folks to be cautious about jumping on to the digital marketing bandwagon too. There’s no doubt that digital marketing has its place, but it’s not the internet that consumers will flock to when the bans are lifted. It’s social connection they will crave. Consumers will realise how much they missed that coffee with friends, not to mention being able to try on that pair of shoes in a real bricks ‘n mortar shop. Did someone say opportunity?

COVID-19 is different and lethal, but will not last forever. It is possible many of our businesses will not survive. Those that do will be agile with careful and realistic plans.