Set to soar

The SmartCompany team always comes away from the Smart50 awards energised and inspired.

Spending a few hours in the company of Australia’s top entrepreneurs always underlines what great innovators and business builders there are in this country, and challenges you to think about ways to grow your business.

But what was really exciting last night was the buzz in the room about how busy everyone was. For these SMEs, the phones are ringing off the hook again, and there was a lot of talk about record sales results in the last few months.

In fact, more than a few entrepreneurs will be eying off the Smart50 list today and trying to figure out how many places they can climb over the next 12 months.

Of course, these are the best of the best, so it’s hardly surprising that their growth is continuing. But what was particularly encouraging was the fact that the customers of the Smart50 are now spending and pursuing growth opportunities off their own.

New websites, new IT systems, new advertising and marketing strategies, new plant and equipment, new back-office systems and, most of all, new staff.

This is a hugely encouraging sign. For some months now we have been waiting for strong business confidence to translate into actual sales, and it appears that this is starting to happen.

There will undoubtedly be speed humps along the way – the global economic outlook could still give us a few shakes, as could interest rates – but growth is now firmly back on the agenda for our top SMEs.

But if I had to pick another trend from last night, it is that skilled people are now really, really hard to find. The recruitment firms on the list such as Marble Group are doing a roaring trade, and a number of entrepreneurs indicated they are increasingly looking offshore for good staff members.

So if you’ve got great staff, lock ’em up because someone – and it could well be the Smart50 – could well be coming to get them.

And finally, can I just take this opportunity to thank the SmartCompany team who worked so hard to make the night a success, including our brilliant marketing co-ordinator Amelie Mills, business development manager Campbell Corser, digital co-ordinator Kate Sallai, sub editor Emma Krieger and reporter Patrick Stafford.

And of course, we can’t forget our own entrepreneurial star, publisher and chief executive Amanda Gome, who after the awards will be buzzing with growth ideas for the next week!