Boss Insights 2020: Your roadmap to being your own boss

Download the full Boss Insights 2020 report.

Many of us have dared to imagine one day becoming our own boss. Starting a business has long been a great Australian dream and what better way to honour the enterprising Aussie spirit than by launching something that is your own. 

I am proud to introduce what we believe is the most comprehensive demographic studies of our small businesses ever made. Our aim is to back the dreamers and the doers by giving them concrete information about where the opportunities are and where the challenges may lie in starting out on their own. 

Of course, this dream isn’t without its challenges. As we start a new decade our thoughts usually turn to renewal and optimism. Instead, many small businesses are facing unprecedented challenges caused by drought, flood, bushfire and now disease. While the data used in the report precedes the very latest of these events, it gives a valuable long-term view of how the small-business sector has adapted and grown over the years. It shows not only the central role that small business has played in shaping Australia’s social and economic fabric, but it also reveals the grit and the reinvention that being your own boss has fostered and demanded.   

Now, more than ever, the future of our country lies with small business. To maintain Australia’s average rate of employment it’s estimated the economy will need to create at least 5 million new jobs over the next 10 years. And those jobs won’t all be coming from the big guys. Advances in technology have resulted in large businesses employing fewer, not more, people. 

Conversely, these changes have seen smaller companies being given the resources they need to scale up. The democratising power of new technology has created a more even playing field for those wanting to start a business of their own. Smarter technology and access to more information and advice is making it easier than ever to find the support you need. Now, thanks to the cloud, you can run a company anytime, from anywhere, and reach customers around the globe. In this time of unprecedented social, political, economic and digital change, the opportunities are all around us. 

Whether you’ve already made the move or are still very much in the planning stages, Boss Insights 2020 is designed to help determine where the best opportunities might lie. It charts everything from high growth locations, to the industries that are succeeding, to the diversity of small business owners. So, if you’re yet to make the leap, consider this report as your roadmap to being your own boss. And if you’re already out there doing what you love and are working hard to create something out of nothing, we’re here to celebrate and to support you as you succeed.  

We know that being in business today needs to be frictionless. And which is why Xero works to make life better for people in small business, for their advisors and for communities around the world. Whether young or old, rich or poor, female or male, new to life in Australia or long established here, everyone deserves the opportunity to be their own boss. 

It’s in this context that Xero presents Boss Insights 2020 as both a supportive tool and a helping hand. In mapping out the country’s small business landscape, this report offers a sweeping view of the Australian character. It reveals a commitment to hard work and resilience as well as the ability to change with the times – and perhaps especially in the times of our greatest challenges. 

So if you’re looking to make the leap, be sure to read all the insights and inspiring small business stories in Boss Insights 2020.