That’s according to new data from the global small business platform Xero. It found that almost three-quarters of small businesses only plan six months ahead. Just six percent have a five-year plan.
Xero released the data to coincide with its vision for a “frictionless economy by 2023”. That is, one in which businesses can operate more efficiently with few barriers. Sounds good.
According to Xero, there are five key things that will define the small business economy and small business success five years from now:
- Frictionless economy. This has to do with digitising small business processes and reporting.
- Digital records. Keeping financial records digitally will become required rather than a “nice to have”.
- E-invoicing to become simpler and commonplace. Digital invoicing and the exchange of electronic invoices will have a rapid uptake during the next five years, leading to savings in time and money.
- Payment times under 30 days. Australia has some of the longest payment times in the world. This has to stop.
- Gains from increased cash flow. According to Xero, “reduced payment times and frictionless economy should translate to an uptick in cash flow positivity and profitability for many small businesses”.
Xero’s five key things may help improve business efficiency, but we think there’s more to business.
When preparing the Mulberry Seed Five Year Business Plan, our team discussion centred on key themes that we see as important to our business success. In particular, we identified the value of community. Not just creating a community within the Mulberry Seed team, but uplifting the community around us and building our own community of family, friends, clients and supporters.
Being part of the community gives us a sense of purpose and a feeling of belonging. Having a sense of belonging is truly a human need – as important as our need for food and shelter – it helps us to cope with painful emotions and teaches us about ourselves and others.
When deciding on the people we want to share our lives with, be it friends, partners or work colleagues, we tend to look for people that have similar values, purpose or goals and people we actually want to spend time with. Being part of a community is much the same.
Before we decide which community to be part of, we ensure they share common values and purpose, and that we have something to offer the community and perhaps that we will benefit in some way as a result.
Community can be of incredible value for individuals and business alike. It can help us build, and rebuild when needed, and it can be the network we sometimes need to keep afloat. It is certainly key to Mulberry Seed and giving back to the community around us will continue to play a role in the business of Mulberry Seed. Sign up to our
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