SMALL BUSINESS

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (15:17): My question is to the Minister for Small Business. How is the South Australian government assisting small business to better respond to the global financial crisis?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (15:17): The Department of Trade and Economic Development runs the Better Business series workshops to help existing small business operators improve their growth and profitability. Incorporating three hour workshops on a range of topics, this series has become a valuable source of information and insight for small business operators in this state. The panel presenters are all business operators, so they can speak from firsthand experience. Workshops are scheduled for a two to three month period, and topics are rotated throughout the financial year based on need.

Due to the popularity of these workshops, they have been growing in size every year, and topics are being revised and extended on a regular basis. About two new workshops are scheduled each month to maintain interest in the series and keep the topics up to date with current circumstances and trends.

There are currently more than 50 topics in the Better Business series program, including developing selling skills; customer relationship management; strategy marketing; how to effectively promote a service business; developing business plans; introduction to the marketing basics; developing your brand; getting your name out there; budgets for better business; selling products or services over the internet; winning government tenders; eight simple rules to create a promo brochure in-house; accurate costing for profitable pricing, manufacturing or services; how to attract and keep good staff; setting up and managing your website; and systemising your business for a less stressed life.

South Australia's economy now faces the challenge presented by the fallout from the global financial crisis, an event that threatens to push most developed economies into recession. In response to this worldwide crisis, a new series of workshops called Doing Business in Difficult Times has been introduced to the series to help small businesses manage the impacts of economic change. The new workshops are specifically targeted to address timely topics covering overall business management as well as the specific aspects of business.

For example, the following workshops are included in the series. The first is managing business in economic downturn, which focuses on key areas of business that need to be addressed and managed in light of the new economic trends. Topics addressed within this workshop include strategies to generate sales in the current economic environment, the significance of effectively managing business financials and cash flow management, practical strategies for reducing input expenses, development of relevant performance measures, and development of new business and action plans and services that can help. The emphasis of these workshops is on leadership in tough times and holding the right team together.

'Survival tips in economic downturn' workshops provide participants with the information and tools they require to investigate further their business needs from the perspective of an uncertain marketplace. Participants are introduced to a range of diagnostic tools they can use to analyse their own businesses, and they are offered a free business diagnostic consultation after the workshop.

The 'How to survive and thrive tips for tough times' workshops address consumer buying habits and how they change in economically difficult times. This allows businesses to understand trends and adapt their approaches. The key topics focus on: how to change or develop new approaches, such as buying trends; pitfalls and how to avoid them; cost structures and spending; strengthening relationships with suppliers and stakeholders; streamlining processes; improving customer service; and using low cost direct response marketing techniques.

'Selecting the right projects in difficult times' workshops cover project evaluation and deciding between projects in times when setting priorities is increasingly important. 'Reducing risk with business continuity planning' workshops look at preparing for the unexpected during an economic downturn and reducing the impact on business through assessing risks, the impact that risks may have, the disruption to business products or services and risk planning.

'Boosting your trade business in hard economic times' workshops investigate the significance of small jobs and maximising your cash flow, maximising staff retention and investing in training. This government is confident that these workshops will assist small business owners and operators to understand the impact of the global financial crisis so that they will be able to develop strategies to enable them to prosper from this new and challenging business environment.

To ensure that small business operators are able to take advantage of the workshops, information can be found through the Department of Trade and Economic Development; a DTED information sheet, entitled 'Doing business in difficult times'; emails to DTED website subscribers and the customer relationship manager database; the Business Enterprise Centre and Regional Development Board network; and The Advertiser's SA Business Journal section.

I urge all members to encourage small business owners and operators to take part in these workshops. By preparing small businesses to withstand the fallout from this worldwide economic challenge, this government is confident that South Australia will continue to weather this global storm and emerge with an economy that is stronger than it is today.