Australian small business owners are not making the most of Government incentives that could make their lives a little easier, according to a new survey. They also have a tendency to be self-reliant, preferring to tackle problems alone. Read on for more insights from the survey.
Domain name hosting provider GoDaddy recently conducted a survey on 500 small business owners and found many of them had a ‘lone wolf’ attitude when running their company. They value the flexible lifestyle of owning a business and most of them deal with their own IT problems themselves.
While self-reliance is a good quality to have as a small business owner and entrepreneur, it may be blinding them to the fact that Government incentives available can help make their lives a little easier.
According to the survey:
- 85% of Australian business owners and future entrepreneurs do not use any of the government’s SMB/Start up initiatives
- 67% of small business owners and future entrepreneurs are not aware of the impact the government’s National and Science Agenda can have on their business
- SMB owners believe more Government backing (34%) and industry collaboration (32%) will shift our entrepreneurship culture forward
“While their tenacity and resourcefulness serve Australian small businesses and entrepreneurs well, they don’t have to go it alone when it comes to maximising the potential of their business — they can better leverage the government initiatives put in place to help start-ups,” GoDaddy country manager Tara Commerford said. “Australian small business owners and entrepreneurs must also be careful not to limit their horizons as many resources exist to help them get their ideas off the ground and achieve continuous growth.”
Other findings from the survey include:
- 54% start their own business to work flexibly rather than earning more.
- 59% would accept lower profits if it meant running an environmentally sustainable business
- 44% would try again if their business failed
- If they sold their business, 33% would live the good life and retire; 34% would start a new venture.
- 19% think they need to go overseas for a business idea to succeed
- 51% of Australians say they’re ideal business size is 5 workers or less
- 8% anticipate 50% growth in next 3-5 years
Comments
6 responses to “Most Small Businesses Aren’t Taking Advantage Of Government Incentives”
Could you please do an article highlighting some of the incentives that are available?
I’m planning one for next week! 🙂
Awesome idea. There are the obvious ones like higher 100% depreciation limits but no doubt there are some other good ones.
Thanks, looking forward to next weeks article.
Sorry to be pedantic but “51% of Australians say they’re ideal business size is 5 workers or less” should be “their” not “they’re”.
The two main ones I use with clients are the R&D grant and the EMDG (Export Market Development Grant). Used correctly they are are a huge benefit. The challenge for many is that you have spend the money first then claim the money back through the programs.
I think this is due to the lack of knowledge of the business owners. If they are aware of the government incentives, I think they would definitely love to take advantage of the said scheme. I mean, who wouldn’t want to make their startups a lot easier for themselves?