“The truth in Australia today is, if you can’t set up a small business and make a dollar, there is something wrong with you…” Mark Latham recently stated in a live-to-air broadcast whilst talking with David Koch and Jeff Kennett on Channel 7’s Sunrise program in relation to the 2015 federal budget.
He then went on to claim the moral high-ground because of his “economics degree” and said that “It’s all about dickheads (apparently alluding to Kochie and Kennett) talking about stuff they know nothing about; that’s what it’s about. You’re kidding,” he said.
Australians – particularly small business owners – clearly dodged a bullet when we chose not to elect Latham as the Prime Minister of our great nation.
Small business is clearly a passion of Kochie’s with his involvement in Kochie’s Business Builders (KBB) and his incredible support for this space over the years is testament of his intimate connection with small business. Jeff Kennett is also well familiar with the world of small business and for years had his own advertising business called KNF.
At GOOP we have more than 600 small business clients Australia-wide and for Mark Latham to suggest that “making a dollar” is easy shows his complete ignorance of reality. Small businesses are confronted with a constant barrage of hurdles and business owners soon learn they need to understand marketing, bookkeeping, budgeting, staffing issues, planning, risk management, cash flows – and don’t forget the family commitments on the side.
Some businesses are one-man shows while others are fighting the dilemma of cash flow and increasing staffing levels. No matter how big or small, every business knows making a buck requires hard work and long hours. And all the while there is the constant issue of trying to build their business!
I seriously doubt that Mr Latham has any concept of the blood sweat and tears (without mentioning stress) that goes into running a small business.
At the end of June 2014 there were 2,100,162 actively trading businesses in Australia and the vast majority (97%) of these were small businesses.
The digital world certainly has its benefits but it has a flipside for more traditional business owners who mightn’t be tech-savvy or comfortable with the proliferation of software designed to create efficiencies within business. Instead of making life easier, the advent of technology has only added to the stress of running a business for some.
The digital transition for small business
| Old | New |
| Yellow Pages | Websites that rank on Google |
| Address Books | Customer Relationship Management Tools (CRM) |
| Projects on WHiteboards | Project Managment Software – Basecamp – Simpro |
| Shoe box full of receipts | Accounting Software (Xero, MYOB and Quicken and add-ons such as Receipt Bank and Freshbooks) |
Mr Latham, you appear to be horrendously out of touch with the realities of the business world and any support that small business can get from government is welcomed with open arms. If you think having an economics degree qualifies you to run or comment on small business then you are the bonehead. I can only thank the Australian public en masse for having the intelligence to recognise your inability to grasp reality and not vote you as Prime Minister of this great nation. Mr Latham, there is a big difference between ideology and reality.