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New research has highlighted the fastest growing subset of small business operators in Australia, ripe for broker support and assistance.
Millennials, defined as those under 35, are the most rapidly growing segment in SME ownership. They currently run over a third of Australia’s small businesses — and they have plans to expand yet further.
The research, conducted by Xero across 1,226 small businesses throughout Australia, found 30% of millennials are actively looking to grow their business as compared to just 22% of older business owners.
Another key finding was that millennials expect more than previous generations when it comes to the level of advice and contact from their accountant or bookkeeper, with 49% of the younger respondents reporting they were contacted less than twice a year by their advisor and almost half saying they rarely, if ever, receive insights from their advisor.
As such, over a third of all small business owners and 56% of millennials are actively searching for an improved support system.
“Every business needs strong advisors to ensure they stay on track and have the right ingredients to grow and thrive,” said Rachael Powell, chief customer officer at Xero.
“In our research, we saw a massive opportunity…to take up the challenge and ensure they’re giving this new generation of small businesses what they need — regular contact, incisive insight and the ability to go beyond the numbers to the issues that matter most to owners.
“Practices who get this right will not only have happier clients but greater opportunities to grow their own business.”
Seeing as advisors get more than 80% of new clients from word-of-mouth referrals, customer satisfaction is crucial to their continued growth.
