Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson interview with David Wood on Ultra 106five Hobart.
David Wood
Today is National Family Business Day, and to find out a little bit more about it the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Bruce Billson is joining us. Bruce, welcome.
Bruce Billson
David fab to be with you and your listeners. And what a fab day celebrating National Family Business Day.
David Wood
Well, it is a very important day on our calendar. For those who may not be familiar with you and your role, what does the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman do?
Bruce Billson
Essentially, three things. One is, we problem solve. We offer a dispute resolution service, because in the federal jurisdiction, really going to court is not a realistic proposition for many small businesses. So, we try and sort things out without the need to go to court and keep relationships intact where we can.
We also do policy and advocacy work where we provide advice and input to government, to regulators, to policy makers on things they can do or perhaps shouldn't do if we want to make the ecosystem for small and family businesses as supportive as it can be.
And the third thing we do is we inform. We inform people about what's going on in the small and family business economy. We provide a lot of data so that people can make informed decisions. And we celebrate best practice, trying to help people emulate the things that will help them best in succeeding in their small and family business.
David Wood
Statistically speaking, seven out of 10 businesses family owned, 40 per cent of them run by the couple team, normally a husband and wife or a mate and his best friend or two BFFs, perhaps, running businesses together. And they do this on the dining room table a lot of the time, and the dining room table becomes the boardroom.
Bruce Billson
That's one of the tough challenges, and that's partly why my agency has family enterprises really called out in not only our name, but also in our mission, because family businesses are a bit different.
They are an incredible driver of economic activity and opportunity in our economy. And you touched on that. So many of those small businesses are family businesses, most often led by a couple team, usually a husband and wife. But they are interesting in that in a normal business, I say normal in a corporate sense, you'd have a boardroom table, you'd know who the bosses are, there'd be a hierarchy there. It's all quite structured and quite understandable. Throw into the mix the family dynamic, and that boardroom table is actually the dining room table. You can see how things get a little different, a little more complicated, but also potentially a different lens is brought to the decision making, a longer-term view perhaps, an intergenerational view on decision making, and what people are hoping to create. And also, an eye to hoping the next generation come through the business.
There are a whole range of different ambitions and values from your ordinary business, that’s not a family business, and that's why we want to acknowledge that challenge, that benefit, and also the longevity of these businesses as great contributors to the communities they operate in.
David Wood
If people are wondering what sort of businesses, they're agriculture, forestry, cattle, beef, grain, all those sort of things, lots of family farms and farmers in that particular space. Other ones with similarly high numbers, accommodation, food services and retail trade. You know, quite often there's something like a caravan park might be run by mum and dad and the kids.
Bruce Billson
The visitor economy, particularly in the great state of Tasmania, so many of the providers of visitor economy services, tour guides, experiences, those sorts of things that you look for as part of the many joys and delights of visiting Tasmania, they're delivered by businesses that are family businesses. These are central threads of the economy and the experience, and the communities in so many regions, and particularly in Tasmania. And that's something that we want to sing out as well.
It's more than just a job. These family businesses can take on a life of their own and people's personalities and sense of purpose become very interwoven in them. But also, we know financing the business, business loans, about half of those are secured by residential properties. So, these are people putting their houses on the line, as well as feeling the heavy responsibility to those looking for livelihoods and looking for success in what they're doing.
So, it's a unique set of challenges, and one that we wanted to call out and acknowledge, but also, the great success of so many family businesses to the economy and the communities they operate in.
David Wood
We have plenty of family businesses listening in today. It's your day, National Family Business Day, and we do wish you all the best for this very special day. The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Bruce Billson, has been my guest. Thank you very much, Bruce for joining us.
Bruce Billson
Take care and great to be with you.
