Understanding micro

business, 2012 2013

Survey summary
Respondent
demographics
60% female, 40% male
80% are 25-54 years of age
46% are 40-54 years of age

Running the
business

75%
37% have been operating for more than five years
60% offer services only
75% operate from home
46% work 30-50 hours per week,
with 15% working 50+ hours a week
74% take a break from work during the day
26% juggle some domestic duties during the day

happiness
86% are happy in their work and getting happier
over time!
The happiest group are those who have been in
business 5+ years
Those working 50+ hours are just as cheery as
those working fewer hours
52% feel more enthusiastic about their business
than they used to
Biggest benefits of having your own business:
flexibility, control, working from home and lifestyle

Understanding micro business 2012 2013

86%
1

Finding new
business

31%

7
 7% spend just a few hours per week
chasing new business with finding
clients the #1 challenge and attracting
ideal customers a key knowledge gap,
this is a clear area for improvement!
3
 1% rely on word-of-mouth from existing
clients
5
 1% receive repeat business from most or
all of their clients
K
 ey knowledge gaps are sales/marketing,
finance and attracting ideal customers

Talking
technology

Technology used for business

40% are online most or all of their day

84% say having a website is important or
very important
70% use laptops all the time
67% constantly use smartphones (up from
45% who used them regularly in 2010)
Cloud technologies, VoIP and tablets also
becoming commonly used

80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

43%

e
p
p
pto phon eskto
rt
D
a
Sm

La

Sometimes

h
ip
e
Vo d tec Tabl
u
o
l
C

Regularly/ all the time

O
 nline communities such as Facebook
(33%), LinkedIn (33%) and online forums
(36%) are effective for business
4
 3% of business purchases are now made
online
5
 8% have bought online 5+ times in the
last three months

Understanding micro business 2012 2013

Networking
styles
64% prefer small informal networking
groups
Online networking is gaining popularity
over offline preferred by 11% in 2008,
16% in 2010 and 26% in 2012
In 2010, 56% attended face-to-face
networking functions more than four
times a year, in 2012 its dropped to 36%

Attending networking functions

70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

kly

e
We

2008

htl

nig

rt
Fo

ly

nth

Mo

erl

art

Qu

2010

ha

st

s
Le

erl

art

u
nq

2012

OutsourcinG
Up to 27% regularly outsource services
81% prefer to use Australian suppliers

Feast or famine!
The #1 challenge identified was finding
clients not busy enough
But the #2 challenge was not enough hours
in the day too busy

Understanding micro business, 2012 2013 | Survey summary

Money, money, money!

24% in households with incomes $150k+
(compared to around 6% of the general
population)
18% earn $100k+ (compared to around 4%
of the general population)
57% say they have not been impacted by
the downturn but 63% agree its tough
out there
54% are dissatisfied with the money
they earn (despite being above average)
and 46% report cutting their salary in
recent years

The future
71% do not have an exit strategy for their business
47% intend to remain small and profitable
27% aim to grow into a much larger business
9
 0% would not seriously consider working for
someone else, even if offered a highly lucrative
and suitable office job

Flying Solo
Happily, Flying Solo continues to play
an important role providing a sense of
community, a place to learn and a place
of support and encouragement

For further information and to discuss any aspects

of this research and the Flying Solo community,
please get in touch with us at www.flyingsolo.
com.au/contact

Flying Solo commissioned NSF Consulting to

conduct Understanding micro business, 2012 2013 and was grateful for the support given by
Optus Business.

Understanding micro business, 2012 2013 | Survey summary