You might be surprised to learn that there are more than 31,000 businesses – bona fide, actively trading companies – here in Canberra.
If so, you’re not alone. We’re still thought of as a government bubble by many Canberrans, and so who can blame the rest of Australia for thinking the same. The public sector is critical to our city’s history and future. This is the seat of Australian government, after all, and the home of the Australian Public Service.
Yet, the reality is that the private sector is where the jobs are. Private businesses provide almost two thirds of the ACT’s employment, translating into around 150,000 jobs in business and 85,000 in the public sector.
This statistic surprises most people, including our politicians. It also means that when we think about what our children might study and where they might work, there is an ever-growing array of exciting opportunities in amazing world-leading companies right here at home.
This is an entrepreneurial city. The number of businesses grew by around 1,800 over 12 months, quite an achievement in a pandemic. That business growth rate was the highest of any state or territory in the country. Sadly, our businesses also have the lowest long-term survival rate in the country and within five years, only 62.5 per cent of new enterprises are still trading. We’re not just talking about coffee shops and cafés; Canberra businesses are a rich mix of companies, sizes, and industry sectors.
Most of the new and growing businesses here are “micro” or small enterprises employing fewer than 20 people. At last count, there only 40 Canberra businesses with over 200 staff.
When we read or hear about business in the media, it is important to understand that these are not faceless corporations. Those 31,000 companies represent someone’s passion; to make food, cut hair, or to take a cutting-edge new technology to a global market. These are people who took a risk, and often a family’s savings, and sometimes a family home, are put on the line to pursue that passion.
I know business owners who have been hit hard over the past two years, again and again, by events they could never have predicted. Imagine two years of your salary constantly being reduced or removed, and little certainty about what might happen next. I marvel at their tenacity and often worry about their mental health.
Over the same period, others I know have grown from 10 to 100 employees and are managing huge challenges trying to find staff and supplies so they can meet demand.
So, when you hear business, think people. People who pursue a passion, take risks to make a dream a reality, deliver goods and services to the rest of us, drive a vision to shake up a global industry and create the jobs – and the city – of the future.
– Graham Catt, Canberra Business Chamber CEO
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