Where do you think the online microbusiness capital of Australia is?
Could it be Sydney? Listed as a Unesco Creative City, it’s brimming with artists and self employed artisans who have online microbusinesses.
Or how about Melbourne? Surely the Australian coffee capital, with all its pioneers, would have its fair share of startups and online microbusiness owners.
Then what about Perth? Yes, the city is the resource and energy capital of the Indo-Pacific region, but could there be side hustles running around this industry?
Well, we can reveal that it’s none of the above.
Instead, new data from GoDaddy’s Venture Forward Research project has found that the online microbusiness capital of Australia is actually Canberra!
Venture Forward is an international research initiative that quantifies the growth and economic impact of online small and microbusinesses, and captures the attitudes and needs of the owners who start and run them.
The team at Venture Forward analysed data from more than 300,000 Australian online microbusinesses in each Level 3 Statistical Area for Australia’s “Microbusiness Density.”
The initiative found that Canberra has 32 online microbusinesses per every 100 residents.
This puts it just ahead of the Gold Coast, which has 11.5 online microbusinesses per 100 residents, Adelaide City, which has 5.6, and Sydney City and Melbourne City, which have 5.4 and 4.8 respectively.
In other findings that might surprise you, the regional areas of Tumut/Tumburumba and Richmond/Windsor had high business density (3.1 and 3 microbusinesses per 100 residents respectively) proving it’s not just big-city areas that are fostering microbusiness across the country.
So what is a microbusiness?
If you’re not familiar with the term yet, a microbusiness is a business that typically employs 10 people or less.
These microenterprises could be bricks and mortar stores, pop ups, cottage businessses or ecommerce outfits, but their number of employees will be no more than 10.
These entrepreneurs often have other work commitments outside of their microbusinesses. In fact, Venture Forward has discovered that just 40% of online microbusiness owners in Australia were fully employed by their businesses.
Whether run as a side hustle or full-time venture, these microbusinesses are certainly impactful.
Venture Forward also discovered that these ventures generate significant earning potential for Australian entrepreneurs, with 21% of online microbusiness owners earning more than $10,000 a year and 40% catering to customers nationwide!
Canberra: a unique place to set up a business
While many Australians may be surprised to discover that Canberra is the online microbusiness epicentre of the country, Canberran entrepreneur Sarah McPhillips is not.
Not only is Sarah the owner of several established ventures – Matriarch Hair Studio, Paddy’s Pickup, and Sarah McPhillips Consulting business – she’s also in the process of setting up another new business, Trichology.
She told GoDaddy that Canberra is a unique place to set up a business even if those involved are starting out with limited resources.
She said: “It’s primarily a public service town, so entrepreneurs and freelancers are able to get an amazing support network of government and other small businesses through bodies like the Canberra Business Chamber or Canberra Women in Business, of which I’m a member.
“This support means entrepreneurs and small business owners get the help they need to navigate the challenges of running their own business while positively contributing to local communities.
"It also means that people are inclined to enjoy both the benefits of a public service salary and the flexibility of a side hustle and entrepreneurship.
“Having an online presence has been invaluable in helping my own micro businesses grow, not only financially but also to reach out to more clients and supporters in my target market.
"Most of my new clients come to my businesses based on what they see on the website – it’s a crucial tool to communicate who we are and what we do. I’m currently working on an online shop and hope to make it a key part of my salon and latest venture.”
Australia Vs the World?
In addition to comparing the density of online microbusiness within Australia, Venture Forward compared the country to other countries (the research initiative also studies microbusinesses in Canada and the UK).
The research found that the UK’s top performing constituency of Cities of London and Westminster had 17 online microbusinesses per 100 residents, which is just over half the number that Canberra reported.
Suzanne Mitchell, Australia, market lead for GoDaddy, commented:
“Venture Forward microbusiness density data demonstrates the sheer prevalence of online microbusinesses across Australia. They have the power to help grow the economy, and also the potential to provide new jobs and opportunity in their local communities.
"This data suggests that right now, our capital Canberra is the heart of a thriving online microbusiness community.
When is the right time to set up an online microbusiness?
If you’ve got to this point of the article, there’s a good chance you’ve got your own business ideas and ambitions of setting up your own online microbusiness.
If that’s the case, you’ll no doubt have worries.
Most aspiring entrepreneurs will ask themselves questions such as ‘will I be able to afford the business expenses ad start up costs?’ and ‘when’s the right time?’
Established microbusiness owners will usually respond ‘there’s never a right time, so just go for it’ — read the story of Emma McLeavy from Jo + Co Hampers & Floral Design for more!
Venture Forward research also indicated that 45% of Aussie microbusinesses identified marketing their business online as one of their biggest challenges.
Fortunately, setting up an online business could be cheaper and simpler than you might think.
If you already have a business name in mind but don’t have a domain yet, one of the quickest ways to get started is with GoDaddy Airo.
This AI-powered tool not only helps you find an ideal domain for your venture, but auto creates the following for you...
- A logo design you can simply customise
- A Coming Soon web page with auto-generated photos and text that can be further developed with the use of GoDaddy’s Website Builder tool.
- A professional email account
- Social media ad creation tools
If you already have a domain, you can also get a full site up and running with GoDaddy’s Website Builder.
You can choose from a range of professionally designed templates to get the layout of your site started and use the easy-to-understand editor to add your own images, words, and extra elements — from video to menus and price lists.
The best bit is, getting started with this tool is free! What’s more, if you do have any questions, Go Daddy Care is just a call away.
