New research reveals small and micro business as Australia’s fastest growing employment sector. 

Aussie start-up culture is burning brighter than ever before as Baby Boomers and Gen Y lead a movement to ditch the corporate ladder in favour of becoming their own boss, according to a new report from KPMG Demographer, Bernard Salt.

The report, commissioned by nbn, Small Business, Big Thinking: The entrepreneurialism of the Aussie workforce explores how access to fast broadband and new digital technology has created entrepreneurial ‘tribes’, meaning a shift from big businesses to disruptive start-ups.

The report looks at the rise of small and micro businesses in Australia and the role that technology is playing in facilitating the enterprises of the future. According to Mr Salt, nationwide nbn™ network access is changing the game for small business, as they can run their operation from anywhere in the country and expand their markets internationally.

KPMG demographer Bernard Salt said: 

“Australians can now run their business from wherever they want, access customers from all over the world and break through traditional business models with their innovations and ideas.

“Nationwide access to fast broadband and new technologies are driving an ‘entrepreneurialism’, giving Aussie’s the opportunity to reinvent themselves as consultants in their field of expertise or to take the plunge by starting that ‘big’ small business idea they had always dreamed of.” 

Who are the emerging Australian entrepreneurs or ‘tribes’? 

• The Corporatepreneur lives in the most exclusive suburbs of Australia’s largest capital cities, including Vaucluse in Sydney and Toorak in Melbourne. They are driven by advanced tech tools, such as VR, to increase efficiency and work in co-working spaces to keep costs down.

• The Tradiepreneur, a mix of sole traders and small-business employers working in trades from construction and carpentry to shop-keeping, accounting, and personal services, such as hairdressing. Most are based in the city, middle and outer suburbs, using technology to save themselves and their team time, managing day-to-day tasks and financials on the cloud or mobile app.

• The Lifestylepreneur, those lucky enough to live in lifestyle locations such as, the hinterland of the Gold and Sunshine Coast. They include retired or ‘lifestyling’ corporates, as well as personal service specialists, such as artists, masseuses and Pilates instructors. They live and work on their own terms, using cloud computing, Fintech, Skype and social media to create more freedom and flexibility for their business.

There are more than three million homes and businesses around the country that can already connect to the nbn™ network, with every Australian set to have access by 2020.

For more information and to download the report, visit our Broadband for Business homepage.

Read Bernard Salt’s report, commissioned by nbn, Small Business, Big Thinking: The entrepreneurialism of the Aussie workforce.

Check your address to see if your home or business can connect to the nbn™ network.