In 2023 The Illumin8 Team Predicts That....

As the calendar turns to January, we love to get the perspectives of some of the team on the year ahead and their thoughts on what it might entail.

So, the marketing guy has done the rounds in the office and grabbed a little thought for you from some of the crew! Take a look.  

Disclaimer: While it’s always fun to predict things, it doesn’t mean they’ll come true. These are just some thoughts from the team on what the year MAY look like, not what will definitely happen. If you do want to chat the future and what it might look like for you and your business, reach out to us!

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Michael:  

• Increase in interest rates have forced mortgage repayments up and the cost of living up, so people now have less disposable income. We’ll see a shift in spending habits over the next 12 months with non-essential goods and services the first to take a hit.  

Kate:  

• I think this year is going to be a big year for employer employee relationships and establishing what the new normal is with the expectations of each other. What an employer expects from their employee and the reverse. The foundation might be re-laid now COVID is over where it was in a state of flux potentially.  

Andrew R:

• I think 2023 will bring some big legislative changes to the buy now pay later industry. Over the last decade we’ve all had a lot of fun chopping our cheeky little impulse purchases buys into four bite sized Afterpay flavoured pieces haven’t we. But the reality is the Federal Government have become increasingly vocal about wanting to bring these Aussie-made payment tools into line, potentially meaning longer sign-up processes and mandatory credit checks for new customers. No matter your thoughts on the ethics of the industry the buy now pay later era has transformed the way many of us shop, save and budget. For business owners who want to keep giving their customer base maximum payment options, buy now pay later is likely too big to fail...but it may not be too big to take a significant hit in 2023.  

Shane:  

• With costs going up everywhere, I’m expecting to see small businesses popping up everywhere to make a bit of cash on the side. You may also see bigger companies hiring at a slower pace, meaning small businesses have a chance to pick up some employees that had previously been difficult to find.

Jason:  

• With international students returning to Australia this year after a hiatus due to the pandemic and as they look to grab the odd jobs around the place, there may be a flow on effect to make it easier for people to employ in the future. Already, cafes for example are seeing a 3-7x higher applicant rate than the previous few years.

Sarah:

• Directors with Australian companies have pushed through and gained their Director ID’s through new government initiative the ABRS. The introduction of this will slowly combine the ASIC and ABR registers into one centralised system, which is going to be great for all involved (even if the application process was a bit trying at times!). This year I think brings streamlined services, less red tape and better-quality data for the government to keep you safe and running smoothly. Why is this useful? This will all be clearer to use (woohoo from the Corpsec team!) with hopefully not so much red tape for you Directors out there!  

Amanda:

• Hybrid working, so hot right now! In a post COVID environment we’re already seeing a shift in returning to the office, but times have changed, we’ve had a taste of workplace autonomy and we liked it! Employers are realising that not all staff want to be in the office full time, but they want the option to have the best of both worlds, so they’re capitalising on the flexibility of the hybrid working model. Vacant offices are increasing in the CBD, and I expect this year we’ll see more interest in coworking spaces due to the availability of smaller offices and ‘hot desks’. These options provide business owners/employees maximum flexibility to work from home or the office, with minimal commitment to costs via long term lease agreements and large offices spaces they can no longer fill.  

Justine:

• We’ve already seen what AI capabilities are available and this year I think we’re going to see a bit of an explosion when it comes to the AI tech. With the cost of living increasing, small business will look to reduce the costs wherever they can and given employees tend to be one of the highest costs for business I think businesses will make more jobs redundant and replace them with AI tech!  

Nat:

• I think in 2023 we might see the ‘side hustle’ trend of employees leaning into their passion projects and looking for something outside of their usual 9-5 working week to add a little extra cash flow into their weekly budgets.  

Keira:

• I think we’ll see small businesses really look to focus and source more Australian made/resourced products and this is something that will become more and more sought after by consumers too.  

Nath:

• Outside of Brisbane winning the flag in 2023...I think we’re going to see small businesses look to get back to supporting not only other small businesses, but events in the community after not being able to over the past few years, due to cashflow during the COVID shutdowns or the fact there weren’t any events taking place. I think we'll see them really connecting back into their communities.

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So, there we go. A few little thoughts from some of the Illumin8 team on what 2023 may bring for small businesses. What do you think might be the biggest change when it comes to the world of small business in 2023? It’s an interesting question and one to ponder as we really get stuck into the year.