What can small business owners teach us about resilience?

By Sam Allert, CEO of Reckon

Running a small business can be challenging at the best of times. But with a global pandemic, lockdowns and Australia’s first official economic recession in 29 years, small business owners are being profoundly tested.

It’s a good thing, then, that small business owners are typically more resilient than the average Australian in times of hardship, as revealed by research for the recently launched Reckon Resilience Report.

A survey of 514 small business owners and 505 other Australian adults, commissioned by Reckon and conducted by Lonergan Research in April, shows three-quarters of surveyed small business owners (74%) say they find it easy to bounce back after hard times compared with two-thirds (66%) of the general population.

So what are these business owners doing to build and maintain resilience and help their businesses survive? The simple answer is they ask for help.

Just over half (51%) of the small business leaders surveyed define resilience as knowing how to tap into tools and resources for support – everything from online accounting software to government subsidies.

And they cite the help of business and financial experts – such as accountants and bookkeepers – as key to maintaining resilience in tough times.

What underpins resilience?

Survey results show business advisers and financial experts are ranked along with mental health professionals as the second most important resource for building and maintaining resilience. Support from mentors tops the list at number one.

The Reckon Resilience Report also shows that Australia’s most successful small business owners – those placed in the top 20% for financial success, job satisfaction and overall happiness – are more likely (20%) than the average small business owner (16%) to tap into the services of business and financial experts.

“The findings suggest that being able to identify and use all the right resources to succeed professionally and personally is a hallmark of the most resilient small business owners. Those who do so are naturally better at bouncing back during tough times,” says Reckon CEO Sam Allert.

“Those who can identify and draw on the right resources will find the going easier. They can tap into JobKeeper-ready payroll software or engage professional accountants to quickly access the government stimulus funds and retain staff through the current challenging circumstances. They’ll be much more likely to bounce back.”

“Those who can identify and draw on the right resources will find the going easier.”

How an accountant can help

Angela Bichler CA, owner and managing director of accounting firm Sydney West Business Services, has been working closely with many small business owners since the start of the pandemic. 

“Since the COVID-19 pandemic kicked in, I’ve seen around 75% of my clients struggle to adapt, with 25% of them seriously struggling to find a way forward for their business,” she says.

But with her help, many of them have successfully pulled together and navigated months or even years of paperwork to get the support they need to survive, she says – for example, with applying for the JobKeeper subsidy.

She notes that business owners who engaged financial experts early and consulted with them regularly through the crisis are those whose businesses are now best positioned to survive and thrive.

“It’s been an incredibly busy time, but it’s also very rewarding to know that business and financial experts have an opportunity to step up and help see our small businesses through.”

Find out more:

Visit the Reckon Resilience Hub for more tips on building resilience and to download the Reckon Resilience Report. Go to www.reckon.com/au/resilience