It’s no secret that small businesses are incredibly valuable to the nation’s economy, with SME’s contributing more than half of the nation’s GDP.
These small businesses are driving some big changes throughout Australia and are essential for the country’s success – now and into the future.
So, it’s concerning that 9 million Australians have thought about starting their own business, but in reality, just over 6% have actually done it, according to the CGU Ambition Index.
Our report shows that 91% of Aussies think Australia should be more ambitious. And even though more than of the nation feel like they’re able to act on their ambition, only 27% say they would not make any sacrifices to make their ambitions a reality.
Even more surprisingly, 65% say they spend less than 10 hours every week working toward achieving their ambitions.
To top it off, Australia is undervaluing ambition, with only 6% saying ambition is their greatest asset.
Where does this leave our economy?
Australia’s ability to innovate is falling short. We’reranked 19th on the Global Innovation Index and based on our performance, we’re identified as a nation who has rapidly evolved in the past but are losing significant momentum and are at great risk of falling behind.
But what could the value of the nation’s economy be if Aussies started to act on their ambition?
If just 10% of all Australians who say it’s their ambition to start a business do so in the next 2 years, almost 250,000 new businesses could be created.
And if just 1% of all Aussie small businesses could reach their revenue and growth ambitions for their business, they could contribute over 1.7 billion to Australia’s GDP in the next 12 months.
Supporting ambitious Aussies
Many of the newest ideas in Australian business that are contributing to our GDP and driving our country forward aren’t coming from the largest companies – but from small businesses that are working hard to innovate and transform their industries.
Jamie Hayman is one of those small business owners making his mark on the Australian economy and the people in it.
The young entrepreneur is the co-founder of Kindled – a holiday rental start-up providing people the chance to get back in touch with nature and rekindle relationships.
What motivates him most is his unrelenting desire to create something that changes the world, and in turn, contributes to the economy.
“People who know me well, know I work hard and always have ideas to change the world. Those who don’t know me that well would say I’m lazy because I choose to stay home working on the next business idea, or concept, instead of going out and being social,” he says.
“I’ve had a lot of ‘failed’ ideas, but I always see them as learnings and an important experience to ensure the next idea will be successful. I have a high resilience – I could lose everything I have and still want to get back up and change the world.”
Today’s start-ups are tomorrow’s industry leaders. And Jamie’s motto and mindset are model examples of how when valued, ambition has the power to put plan into action, resulting in invention.
For the Australian economy to thrive, we need to support more homegrown entrepreneurs like Jamie, who continue to push boundaries, with the passion and confidence to turn big ideas into solid businesses.
