The best places to run a small business in Queensland revealed

The Sunshine Coast, Ipswich, Logan and Central Queensland are some of the best places to be a small business in Queensland according to The Queensland Small Business Commissioner’s Beyond the Pandemic Report, which was released this month.

According to the report, Australia is experiencing high inflation and high-interest rates that could curb economic growth in the short term.

However, there are many opportunities for small businesses in Queensland, with the state experiencing strong population growth and a rebounding tourism sector.

Queensland Small Business Commissioner Dominique Lamb said the report provides practical insights for small businesses to enable them to understand their growth by industry and to prepare them for the headwinds that they are experiencing currently. 

“The report identifies challenges and opportunities but most importantly provides both profit margin ratios and employee margin ratios to assist small businesses in Queensland with their planning and strategies to alleviate some of the pressures they are experiencing,” she said. 

“It can be hard when you are a small business in a particular location to locate data that is relevant to your business experience. This report goes some way to providing that clarity.”

The Commissioner said Ipswich, the Sunshine Coast, Logan and Rockhampton, and Livingstone Shire in Central Queensland were identified in the report as some of the best places to be a small business. 

“The report also identifies regions that show significant population growth which we anticipate is likely to become a key indicator as to where in Queensland you are best to open a small business and we will take a deeper dive into this in our future quarterly reports,” she said. 

“It is worth noting that each of the areas located are also Small Business Friendly Local Governments and have been actively working to improve their region’s ability to interact with small businesses in a meaningful way.”

Following the pandemic, the number of small businesses operating in Queensland increased in 18 of the 19 industries according to the report. 

The number of small businesses has increased by 9.5% across Queensland, surpassing the national small business growth of 7%. 

The figures are not just from new businesses starting up, but from an increased survival rate, up to 64.3%, for established businesses.

The Commissioner said there is no doubt that now more than ever, Queenslanders need to be shopping locally and investing in our communities.

“Small businesses nationally contribute a third of our GDP, they employ 42% of our apprentices and there are 2.5 million of them, with 478,000 being in Queensland,” she said. 

“We need to make sure that we are thinking local first when it comes to procurement, streamlining our processes (not just in government but also big business), paying on time and within 14 days, and in general creating an environment where small businesses are not left alone with no support because it can be incredibly isolating as a small business owner.”

The Commissioner said the future for Queensland small business is bright.

“There is significant investment by all levels of government in becoming an increasingly small business-friendly state, there are significant projects in hydrogen which will benefit many of our regional and remote communities, investment in new space programs in the gulf, an Olympics in 2032, and a huge new focus on small business as part of the Queensland Government Buy Queensland 2023 procurement strategy,” she said.

“It is great to see new businesses entering the market in Queensland at 9.5 % which bucks the national trend. 

“This shows that Queenslanders across the state are willing to be brave and bold and having recently travelled extensively across Queensland, we are hopeful for some of the most innovative and resilient communities. We are a state full of opportunity.”