Small Businesses

Small businesses in parts of regional South Australia are feeling the pinch as farmers and their families tighten their belts amid record low rainfall.

The Indigenous business sector is experiencing significant growth but challenges remain around access to capital, a lack of culturally safe support and entrenched racism.

From our coffee addiction to a weekend pub tradition, some of the simple pleasures many Australians have taken for granted now feel like luxuries. But if patrons can no longer afford to visit the pubs and cafes we love, there may be something bigger at stake.

WA schoolboy Blayde Day says everything has gone to plan after he changed his outlook and set some goals after being bullied.

Small businesses working over the busy Easter period are counting the cost of rising prices, global economic uncertainty and customers who are becoming more frugal.

The policy was touted as a major help for small businesses, but Liberal Leader Peter Dutton has only mentioned it once since his budget reply speech.

Fruit and vegetable traders at Melbourne Market say a revised rent proposal from the state government landlord is still too expensive.

Vendors have been given 30 days to pay higher rents before the state government-owned market authority says it will take legal action against them.

From toy brands to fashion labels, some Australian firms are facing tariffs way above the 10 per cent "baseline". Company owners say they are not getting enough support as they navigate soaring tariffs to send Chinese-made goods into the US.

In far west New South Wales, two Aboriginal men are drawing on the traditional knowledge of their ancestors to generate a source of income.

Alice Springs bakery owners say they were down $14,000 last year after increases to freight and ingredient costs were compounded by the challenge of finding qualified staff.

A family-owned Alice Springs business is determined to stay open after a devastating fire causes millions of dollars in damage.

A decline in cigarette sales amid a boom in illegal tobacco has added to the stress for small businesses already struggling.

As its owner orders a review of operations, workers and small businesses worry the city won't survive without the smelter, its major employer and economic driver. 

Businesses reliant on Australian workers to buy their goods and services will cheer news the federal budget will leave more cash in the pockets of their customers. But firms may face more competition to hang on to their staff, with reforms to abolish non-compete clauses for most workers.

As rising costs and shrinking margins continue to hit independent grocers, competing with Coles and Woolworths is getting tougher. But that is not stopping them from trying. 

The butcher in the WA town of Pingelly is selling up and the council is offering a significant financial incentive to whoever buys the business and keeps it running.

An expansion to the ACT's portable long service leave scheme, which allows those in casual or insecure work to access the entitlement even if they switch employers, is being put on hold amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

Young barbers are setting up shop in smaller regional communities, with their success fuelled by social media.

Construction workers are calling on the ACT government to speed up the approval process for development applications amid an ongoing housing crisis.