With over 4.7 million people, representing 41% of the total business workforce, SMBs are a big driver of Australia’s economic success – a fact Alexi Boyd is very familiar with given her 20+ years of experience working with small and family businesses. And now in her role as CEO at COSBOA – the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia – Alexi works tirelessly to advocate and support small businesses across Australia.
Join Paul Zahra for some Retail Therapy in the Amex Lounge, where he sits down with Alexi as she shares the many opportunities that lie ahead despite the challenges businesses have faced both in the past and in the new normal of living with Covid.
In this episode Alexi and Paul discuss:
-
Why SMBs are critical to our economic success
-
Blocks to success and ways to overcome them
-
How we could have avoided businesses closing during the pandemic
-
How the landscape differs now, compared to 5-10 years ago
-
An SMB that flourished in the crisis and lessons learned
-
Is being an omni-channel business critical?
-
COSBOA’s current support and advocacy work
-
How to embrace sustainability, climate change and diversity