[EP 146] Championing Small Business in Policy Making: Insights from Alexi Boyd

Welcome back to Talking Law – and for our first release of 2024, Joanna Oakey is joined by Alexi Boyd, Lead Consultant, Policy Strategist & Radio Show Host @ Small Biz Matters and former CEO of Council of Small Business Organisation Australia (COSBOA). Alexi is an absolute powerhouse behind small business advocacy in Australia. 

This conversation is full of insights about the critical importance of advocacy in the small business sector and the impact advisors can have in it – as well as a journey through the processes of policy-making and its direct impact on the day-to-day operations of Australian small businesses.

This episode is not just small talk; it’s a call to action for every business owner and advisor who’s felt overshadowed by the daunting world of regulations and policies – and the advisors they turn to in these moments. 

 

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Alexi Boyd is a fierce advocate for small businesses with over 20 years experience as a small business advisor, leader in local grassroots advocacy and in her role as CEO of Council of Small Business Organisations Australia.

Alexi now consults as a small business policy advisor and proudly broadcasts Small Biz Matters People, Policy, Purpose on community radio. Running for 8 years with with over 220 podcasts, the program is a labour of love which aims to empower small businesses and their advisors to be more involved in policy and advocacy.

Connect with Alexi Boyd:

Alexi on LinkedIn

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Transcript below!

Note: This has been automatically transcribed so will be full of errors! We are not providing it to you as a word-perfect version of the podcast but just as an easy way to provide you with a different way to be able to scan for information that might be relevant to you.

Intro [00:00:08]:

You’re listening to talking law, the podcast where business owners, just like you, discover how to avoid legal landmines and build value using smart legal tips. Join your host, Joanna Roki, as she cuts through the legal jargon and gives you clear and simple action legal strategies which will get you optimal business results.

Joanna Oakey [00:00:37]:

Hi, it’s Joanna Oakey here, and welcome back to Talking Law, a podcast proudly brought to you by our commercial legal practice aspect, legal.

Joanna Oakey [00:00:46]:

Now, in today’s conversation, we dive into.

Joanna Oakey [00:00:49]:

The dynamic world of small business advocacy with the insightful Alexei Boyd, former CEO of the Council of Small Business Organizations Australia, otherwise known as Cosboa, and a seasoned small business policy advisor. As an advocate and voice for small businesses all over Australia, Alexi brings a wealth of experience and a very unique perspective on how policies and government decisions impact the small business sector, along with how professionals and business owners can help shape it. We explore some of the big challenges in this sector, some first hand examples of what happens when policy and small business collide, for better or for worse, and the future of small business advocacy in Australia. So now your earbuds have warmed up, let’s get into it.

Joanna Oakey [00:01:43]:

Alexi, welcome to the show. It is absolutely fantastic to have you on the show today.

Alexi Boyd [00:01:49]:

Thanks, Joanna. It’s great to be here. I’m really excited to have this great conversation with you.

Joanna Oakey [00:01:53]:

Fantastic. Okay, well, now, just so that we can orient our listeners, why don’t you give us the 1 second background over. Well, more than 1 second, 32nd background, one sentence background on your background with small business and what’s led you to where you are today?

Alexi Boyd [00:02:13]:

Sure. Well, I’ve been passionate about small business since I’ve been running a small business with. We’ve got a family business in video production. It’s been running for about 20 years. The highs, the lows, the ups, the downs. And I was also a bass agent for ten years looking after small and micro businesses. I had about 100 clients in lots of different sectors, and I treated them all like my babies and tried to help them. And I got into advocacy because I looked around me in Hornsby and realized that nobody was really speaking for the small business community.

Alexi Boyd [00:02:41]:

And it felt as though there were a lot of changes happening and a lot of regulations that were impacting them. And I thought, well, if you want something done properly, do it yourself. So I put my hand up to start a radio show on my local community radio station. That was ten years ago, and now I’ve sort of taken that to the national stage. So from Hornsby to Canberra and really fought for the rights of small businesses. But always at the back of my mind, really thinking about our family small business, but also all of those clients that I looked after for those years as a bass agent and all of their questions and trials and tribulations and efforts that they had to put into running a business. That’s always at the back of my mind.

Joanna Oakey [00:03:19]:

I love it. I just love that I’m so passionate about small business. Everything that we do is about small business. And I mean, hell, I run a business also. In fact, a few of them. So I feel like I sit in the seats of my clients in so many instances. And of course, we see a lot of businesses achieving some incredible outcomes, but we also see businesses doing it tough. And of course, we all know we’re preaching to the converted here, but we all know the power of small business here in Australia and the benefit to the economy as a whole that small business provides.

Joanna Oakey [00:04:04]:

And that’s why I love the messages that you’re talking about. So why don’t we get into the topic here, which is what small business advocacy is, what it looks like, and how’s it relevant? How is it all relevant, conceptually to our business owners that are listening in?

Alexi Boyd [00:04:26]:

Yeah, look, and that’s a great question to kick us off today, because I think that’s why I want to do these sort of talks, because I want people to understand that there are people, often volunteers, often people who are going above and beyond, really fighting in their corner in different policy areas. And the thing I learned about in Canberra as the CEO of Cosboa, was that policy affects every small business is affected by every area of policy. So whether it’s workplace relations, something as intricate as how you employ people and HR and looking after them, workplace health and safety, that’s something small businesses are very familiar with. But all the way through to things like the Privacy act and even personal tax or borrowing criteria, all of those things affect small businesses. Because small businesses are not run by a board. They’re not run by shareholders. They’re run by people. And those people are the ones who are affected not only in their personal lives, by regulations and policies, but also in their professional lives as small business owners.

Alexi Boyd [00:05:23]:

And it is hard. It is a juggle. And what we need to see more of is the people who are representing small businesses are those who are, like you, in the trenches, who really understand what it is to run a business, the difficulties, et cetera. So I can tell people that out there, you’ve got different levels of advocacy and representation. It happens at a local level. And when you’ve got your local chambers of commerce, often run by volunteers who are really passionate about what’s happening in their business area. And that can be anything from networking events all the way through to taking it to policy, economic development policy and council, or demanding that there’s better representation on council of small businesses all the way through to federal government, where we’ve got what we call peak business groups who sit side by side and work through with government, really tricky, delicate policy areas. Now there’s something I’m going to talk about a bit today, which is something called co design.

Alexi Boyd [00:06:18]:

And co design really is the gold standard. It’s when the government sits down with the right people and asks them what they think, what are the bad outcomes, what are the potential unintended consequences? Where are the positive benefits while they are designing policy? Bad policy and unintended consequences happen when people just blurt out these ideas or think they know better than the very experts who are in the room. And I guess what everyone I’d like to take away from today is understanding that there is a group, and it’s called the Council of Small Business organizations Australia Cosboa, who sits in the room with the business council, with the Australian Chamber, with the AI group, with the Banking association and other peak bodies to really represent the needs of small businesses, specifically just the small and micro businesses. So when it comes to thinking about what’s happening in the area of migration policy, and you think, well, what’s that got to do with small business has a lot to do with them. We think about what skills we need, how do we have influence on the skilled migration lists so we can say, you know what, small businesses need this? And a lot of professional associations have a vast majority of their members being small. And we’ve got to remember that small businesses are 98% of the businesses in this country, we might have some pretty powerful big businesses out there who can spend a lot of money on lobbying and a lot of money on government access. But those small businesses increasingly are getting a foot in the door and a seat at the table simply because they represent real people and real interests. And I think that’s the big difference, because when small business advocates sit in those rooms, they don’t muddy the waters with massive macroeconomic levers.

Alexi Boyd [00:07:58]:

And what things will they just say, look, this is the perspective of the small business owner. If you do this, this is how this person will be affected. And I think that’s the key difference, is that what the small business groups bring to the table is real life. Real life examples of what could happen or couldn’t happen or what the benefits might be. And that’s what I mean about co design. If they sit down and listen to the right people and say, this will be the impact of this policy area, whether it be good or bad, and then make a decision based on that, then that’s better policy design than simply making an announcement in the budget and going, yay, we’re going to spend $60 million on small business. And the small business groups go, what? What are you doing? So it’s about making sure that those right people are in the room. And I want to reassure people that the right people are in the room.

Alexi Boyd [00:08:42]:

Mostly. Government can always do better, but at the moment, there are people fighting in your corner. I love it.

Joanna Oakey [00:08:49]:

And so what’s an example of that in action? Have you seen, or what are some things, I guess, just to really give it a practical edge, to contextualize it for our listeners, what have you seen that has changed because of that advocacy work?

Alexi Boyd [00:09:10]:

Sure. I can give a really great example. When we were working at Cosboa on the area of cybersecurity a couple of years ago, what we noticed is that no single government department really had a grasp of what cybersecurity was going to look like in a couple of years time to small business, which is, if we don’t get a handle on this, it’s going to be disastrous. And that’s what we’re seeing now. So a lot of them were spending very small, incremental amounts of money on small projects, thinking that was going to have an impact, when really what we needed was a holistic approach to help small businesses with what they need, which in a way is partially education and support to help them understand where the risks are, where the liabilities are, and how they can protect themselves. But the difficulty with that is where you have it with all government areas, when they try and help, they don’t know how to access small businesses. So this is where a peak organization like Cosboa can do really good work, because they have 50 member organizations who are those members, and the vast majority of their members are small businesses. So delivering programs through those trusted channels is really good, because then you’re getting that information to small businesses in a language in which they understand.

Alexi Boyd [00:10:20]:

So if you want to tell a plumber how to be more cybersecure, or you want to tell a salmon farmer down in Tasmania, or you want to tell a hairdresser how to be cybersecure, those are very different conversations. So importantly it was getting in front of the government and saying, we need a strategic plan that is beneficial for all small businesses, but delivered in a way that’s relatable, so that they’re going to take notice and they’re going to have actions that make sense. And one of those solutions we came up with was, well, a lot of small business owners want to look after themselves, but they also want to look after their staff. So we offered a micro credential under the banner of cyber wardens. So you know how you’ve got first aid officers. This new concept is to introduce to small businesses, you should have a cyber warden in your business. Now, that could be you, or that could be your advisor, your accountant, your bookkeeper, or it could be your small business, your employee as well. So that’s the idea, is that we introduce a micro credential, that the person in the business then walks away with a qualification, if you will.

Alexi Boyd [00:11:23]:

The concept of cyber wardens is kind of like when small businesses have a fire warden or a first aid certificate holder. They understand how that works. And that could be you, or that could be your advisor, or it could be an employee, and you get a micro credential, which is recognized in the micro credential framework. And the nice thing about that is that a small business owner can utilize that. Their employees can use that. They can take it to another workplace should they shift. So it’s about shifting that mentality and understanding that it’s a good idea in your business to have a cyber warden, someone who is looking after all of your cybersecurity strategy for the business.

Joanna Oakey [00:12:01]:

Love it. I love that terminology. Cyber warden, is that something you came up with, or is that actually terminology out there?

Alexi Boyd [00:12:08]:

I’ve never terminology that Cosboa came up with.

Joanna Oakey [00:12:12]:

I love it.

Alexi Boyd [00:12:13]:

Yeah. I mean, it’s more know, appealing to something that makes sense to small businesses. And it’s a good example of taking government policy that was a bit of a mush, where they didn’t really know how to speak or make it relatable and deliver it through a program that’s going to hopefully upskill all small businesses out there, their employees, their advisors, and just get some baseline understanding and awareness of what’s happening with cybersecurity. Because we all know that so many of the human errors are what causes disruptions to people’s businesses as a result of cybersecurity breaches. And it’s bad. It’s really problematic, and it’s really problematic for the economy as well.

Joanna Oakey [00:12:53]:

I love it. That’s just such a great practical example that is just fantastic. And what are the things, I guess, how much do you think generally small businesses understand about organizations like CosbOa? Or is it really just this real need at the moment to educate small businesses about what organizations are out there and how they can get involved?

Alexi Boyd [00:13:24]:

Yeah, I think it’s a bit of both, because Cosboa doesn’t speak directly to small businesses. They talk to the associations, who then talk to their members, and that information is filtered up through the system. And one way that that’s done is through putting in submissions. So the government will come up with this policy suggestion or a recommendation or something, and then the Cosbo or the peak body will put in their own submission, gathering all the evidence from all of those different associations, giving good examples of how there’s positive and negative consequences, and sending that to the government. But similarly, those industry associations will themselves put in submissions to offer that perspective of their cohort. So whether it be the hairdressers or the butchers or the smart energy installers, for example, they will give that perspective and they’ll pick and choose which area of policy they have the resources to be able to cover. And that’s the big thing here. When you collectively bring all those groups together, then Cosboa becomes the resource to be their voice.

Alexi Boyd [00:14:26]:

It’s very difficult for a lot of these associations, who mostly are run by volunteers, who are really passionate about their industry, to have the time to be able to put in submissions in each and every different area of policy, because, like I said, every type of policy affects small businesses operations and how they grow and thrive.

Joanna Oakey [00:14:49]:

It’s so fantastic to talk about this network that is out there at the moment. And when I reflect back, obviously we’ve gone through what has been for many small businesses, a difficult period. The COVID period. Obviously, for some small businesses, it was a period in which they could thrive. But I would think, on balance, it was a really tough period for small businesses as a whole.

Alexi Boyd [00:15:18]:

Yeah. And if you look at different areas, it was catastrophic in places like Melbourne, CBD, and that foot traffic is still not back to where it was. And so many of those businesses rely on that foot traffic. Now, there’s a few different things being explored by councils, and this is where we get down into that council area where we’re looking at what to do to improve that foot traffic. Could options such as changing trading hours be an option? And that means affecting award rates, because the award rates are determined by time. So it is a bit of a cascading effect. If you look at trying to solve one problem, sometimes different areas of policy have to be amended, and that’s when things get really tricky and really complex. But when Covid happened, there were some states who did a really great job of talking to small business, and there were other states who just talked to big and weren’t really interested in talking to small business at all.

Alexi Boyd [00:16:15]:

So we had different influences across different states. Some of them just had town hall meetings where ministers just talked to everybody. They had 200 people on the call and everyone was just expected to take notes, whereas other states sat down every single day with all the peak business groups and said, this is what we’re going to do tomorrow. This is what the shutdowns are going to be like in a week. What’s that going to do to affect your members? What can we do to make it easier? And it was a step by step process when every step that the government took, they had co design in the room. And that was a really good example of where everybody says government moves so slowly, and sometimes it is painful because it’s important to consult, but when it really hits the proverbial, really hits the fan, sometimes they can move quick and they can consult quickly and they can get the right people in the room. So much of this is just about them understanding who the key people are, who’s going to give them the best, most informed advice, and those who really represent the people in their cohort. And that’s difficult because when you think about a change in government, so there’s a thing called everyone understands it, there’s a change in government, but there’s a mog, a machine of government change.

Alexi Boyd [00:17:26]:

And you can have departments shifting all around the place, and you can have bureaucrats moving from one department to, into a completely different another one. And that’s difficult for those associations and those advocacy groups because they have to almost rebuild those relationships again. And that takes time. So I guess if I was talking to a small business owner or an advisor right now, firstly, do whatever you can within your financial or time capabilities to engage with your association. Now, that might be talk to them directly, find out what benefits a membership will give you, and actually pick up the phone and talk to them. They all have membership officers as largely, again, sometimes they’re volunteers and ask them what’s in it for me? But start by getting their newsletters reading them. It’s one thing to subscribe to a newsletter, it’s another to read it and make sure that you jump onto their Facebook groups and start hearing and listening to what they’re involved with because they will be maybe prosecuting a particular state issue that they think is really important. For example, retailers were looking into opening hours in Queensland a few years ago and that became a very big issue for them.

Alexi Boyd [00:18:37]:

Have a look at what they’re fighting for. And then the other thing you can do, if you want to take it to the next level, you can of course become a member, which brings all these fantastic benefits like exclusive webinars. You get better access. You get probably access to a more exclusive Facebook group where you can ask your peers for help. You can attend networking events. So find out what you get for free, then find out what you get for your membership. And then if you want to take it up a notch, start putting your hand up to join subcommittees. And what they will do is they’ll have a subcommittee that just looks at a particular piece of policy.

Alexi Boyd [00:19:10]:

For example, the Independent Cinemas association, they had a subcommittee during COVID because they needed to know who was opening, who was closing, what the restrictions meant for them. What could they as an industry do to meet those restrictions but still survive? And what help did they need if it looked like they were going to collapse? So subcommittees are really important. And if you have a particular interest or maybe in a former life, you were an HR advisor or something and you’ve got this skill set, then offer it to them and start being involved. And that really broadens. Obviously, it gives them more resources to draw on and more information and education that you bring with you, but it also gives them different perspectives and that’s really important for associations. I think anybody who’s been involved in a scouting group or a local PNC association or anything in a local community level will know. It’s really important that you get fresh faces and new people coming through to get new ideas to really strengthen the organization.

Joanna Oakey [00:20:06]:

Yeah. And because you were talking initially about the importance of reading and listening, but I guess the other flip side is about feeding through or feeding in information. I find a lot of small businesses sort of are suffering the pains of business without sharing what those elements are that are creating the pain with people who perhaps can filter that information through in a useful fashion. So there’s no, I guess a point is it helps to talk about the things that are constraints or issues, not just to get ideas of how to deal with them, but also so a movement can start in terms of moving that information forward. And I guess on that note, then what would you say? You’ve talked about local chambers of commerce and you’ve talked about industry associations. But are there any other sorts of associations that small businesses should consider that are particularly active in advocacy? If they’re trying to find someone to talk to, how do they work out what organizations or what associations are active advocacy?

Alexi Boyd [00:21:29]:

I would start firstly with what industry that you’re in and finding out who represents you. And that can be complex because sometimes if you are someone who straddles multiple industries, that can be tricky. But start with one and find out if those are your people. Then you’ve got your local groups who will mostly look at local issues but occasionally put their toe in the water for bigger issues. But local groups are very good for events which bring in expertise where you can have real one on one conversations, like yourself, legal advisors, but also people like what’s happening in the local councils, and they might bring in departments of Energy, for example, who are trying to give advice. And then you’ve got state based chambers. So the New South Wales Business Chamber, which is business New South Wales, or Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, so they look at more state issues and you can join them, some of them, as a business, directly, and find out more and also go to their events, which are really big, because the bigger the organization, kind of the bigger the events. And then you go up to the peaks, as I mentioned, which is your people, like the Council of Small Business Organizations, but there’s also a number of states and federal bodies that are appointed by government.

Alexi Boyd [00:22:39]:

They’re independent, but they represent the needs of small businesses in a similar way. But they have a little bit more policy acumen and a little bit more policy grunt to be writing policy and suggesting that directly to government. And that’s the small business commissioners. Most states have one. Some are better resourced. It just depends on the state government. And, hey, that’s something you can do. You can write to your local state member and say, how much funding are you giving to the small business commissioners? Because they’re offering me a lot of support.

Alexi Boyd [00:23:06]:

They do a lot of work in mediation and disputes, resolution. So if you’re having a problem with a contract or a lease or something like that, give them a call at the first port. And even if you’re not and you’ve got a problem or something you need to solve, they can often point you in the right direction. So they’ve got the resources of having a phone and email service where you can ask tons of different questions. Similarly with the australian small business and family enterprise ombudsman Aspifio, as known as in, and they look at federal laws and federal issues like contracts, like the privacy laws, and they will look at particular policy areas, but they also have a mediation service and will point you in the right direction. So you’ve got your local chambers, you’ve got your state based chambers of commerce or business groups. You’ve got your industry associations, professional groups that specifically represent you and in your industry. And then you’ve got the government appointed commissioners and ombudsmen that actually represent small businesses in really just the government space.

Alexi Boyd [00:24:12]:

So there’s a lot of different options, a lot of newsletters you can work your way through, but I would recommend definitely subscribing to the commissioner’s websites. And you mentioned before about sharing that information, and I talked about earlier how important it is the work that groups like Cosboa do to give that real life information. The way we get that real life information is through case studies. And probably the most helpful thing that you can do if you’re having a really bad time of a particular area of policy and it’s really painful, is just jot down what happened. So step one, I tried to call someone. They gave me the runaround. I ended up in three different departments. Step two, I finally got hold of someone.

Alexi Boyd [00:24:59]:

Those step by step processes are gold, because those examples and how they affect you as a business owner and how they affect your ability to contribute to the economy, which is what the government really cares about. Those are golden for when people like Cosboa or business, New South Wales or your local chambers are prosecuting issues, because those real life stories are something that big business cannot do, and it really helps to give small business a voice.

Joanna Oakey [00:25:27]:

Love it. Absolutely love. And before we go, I’ve got a couple of other quick questions. One is, I guess, examples of things the government does that impact small businesses that they may not even realize. One of the things that sort of pops to my mind when I talk about things like this is we recently had a snap public holiday that was called, and then it seemed like this year there was a theme that was passing about that seemed like maybe there might be another snap one, because it seemed like this was going to be a good uniting force for the country. And yet it has a massive impact from my viewpoint, and the small businesses I talk to, a massive impact. Quite often it’s small businesses that carry the cost of this without that being called out. I feel to my mind, that’s one example, but maybe you could give us your thoughts on perhaps that issue.

Joanna Oakey [00:26:38]:

But more generally, what are the other things that governments do that impacts more business? And how is that dealt with.

Alexi Boyd [00:26:46]:

Yeah, I think it’s funny because the thing that gets the most in the way of good policy is politics. And it’s when the concern of keeping your seat and keeping yourself in power and keeping the machine of government going gets in the way of doing something that’s going to affect even more people. But politically and in the media, it looks worse. So that was a really good example of where in the background every association, the retailing association, all of the peaks were literally shouting at the government saying, you can’t do this. You have no idea how it’s going to impact them. Many small businesses will go backwards in that day. Most of them will, if anything, break even. And they’re all exhausted because the impacts of COVID and they’re still trying to keep their head above water.

Alexi Boyd [00:27:39]:

You simply cannot do this. But the benefits of this good political viewpoint and keeping everybody happy outweighed that. And that’s one of the things that we have to consider as voters is that are our leaders really thinking about small businesses? Who are the biggest employers, who are the largest number of businesses in the country, who often hold communities together and are the very fabric of the communities, especially in regional areas. You don’t see the big boys turning up with stock and food when there’s a flood or a fire. It’s the small businesses who open their doors first if they can get them open with the energy problems. But the small businesses who are there to help first and foremost because it’s their community they’re trying to keep together. So yes, there’s some really poor decisions out there. And although the decisions are made poorly, it’s not without the efforts of the advocates who are listening and are trying really hard behind the scenes to change that.

Alexi Boyd [00:28:40]:

But you’re not going to win every fight.

Joanna Oakey [00:28:42]:

Unfortunately, no. But you make a really good point. It’s about making noise together. And I felt some of those calls were just with such little notice that it was hard for business to group itself together, to bring a voice, show.

Alexi Boyd [00:29:03]:

How important it is that when we’re voting, we’re voting for people who have got real experience in small businesses. And I’m not talking about my grandparents ran the local corner shop, I’m talking about I ran the local corner shop, I ran the local butcher, or I was intrinsically or I have worked in lots and lots and lots of different small businesses throughout my career. So I know what it’s like because unless they’re standing in those shoes, I literally had one politician say to me that I interviewed on my radio show. And she said to me, well, my law firm used to be small once. Right? You’ve got a lot of policymakers who just don’t have that small business experience. Too many of them just come through with lots of political acumen. They’re probably lawyers. They’re probably consultants.

Alexi Boyd [00:29:50]:

Nothing is wrong. Not there’s anything wrong with.

Joanna Oakey [00:29:52]:

No, I mean, some lawyers.

Alexi Boyd [00:29:57]:

I’m saying that they don’t have that real getting dirt under your fingernails kind of stuff. And understanding, innately, I’d love to see more accountants become politicians, more bookkeepers, because they’re in the trenches. And those advisors and those advisory groups, they really get what the pain is as well, as well as running their own businesses simultaneously, just like you do with your multiple businesses. So we’ve got to see more people who are representative of that rather than just being people from big business or coming through the ranks of the political movement. We need to have more real people in parliament. And I think that’s something everybody should consider when they’re thinking about those decisions being made that are going to affect everything. And you asked before, which decisions does government make that affect small business? I think it would be easy to say which decisions don’t affect small business because even if you think about things like Social Security, where you’re a small business owner, you’re probably also possibly a carer as well for a member of your family sometimes falls on the small business owners because they have more time, because they’re not doing a nine to five job. And then that Social Security aspect impacts you.

Alexi Boyd [00:31:11]:

So there is nothing that doesn’t affect a small business owner. Everything they have to be across. And that’s why leaning on your associations to at least help to prioritize what you should be thinking about and being aware of what’s coming down the pipeline. And if you have time being part of the process. So there’s sort of different levels that you can be involved, but all of them are very, very valuable.

Joanna Oakey [00:31:33]:

That’s such an important point that you raise because I don’t hear a lot of talk around, and I deal with small business all day, every day, but I don’t hear a lot of talk around about that side of involvement in associations from the small business perspective. So I feel like it’s a great point for us to bring that message back to the light. So it’s fantastic that we’re having this conversation now, I think, and we will definitely put in the show notes a link to your radio show, because I presume there you talk a lot more from a practical perspective about this area. Is that right?

Alexi Boyd [00:32:17]:

Yeah, exactly. I started the radio show originally because when I was a bookkeeper I was getting all these weird and wonderful questions from my clients and I was thinking, oh, okay, well I’ll just use the show and I’ll get on an expert, I’ll learn something, my clients will learn something. And it got around to a bigger and a bigger audience. There’s plenty of really great business programs, the how tos out there now. So I’ve shifted it across to being all about people, policy and purpose. So helping people to understand, let’s deep dive into like say for example, I’ve had on the show someone from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, why are statisticians so important? How much do they influence government? How much do they influence policy? People like the startups world, a university startup who’s very, very successful, do they have enough of a voice moving into the tech space and entrepreneurship and the future of the industry? Do they have a voice there? And then even speaking specifically to different associations, the australian traditional medicine society coming on and talking about the issues there. Now that’s really interesting because you’ve got women’s issues, because the majority of women in traditional medicine, people in traditional medicine are female. You’ve got family and balancing and work life balance, you’ve got health and then you’ve got all the other small business issues that go with it.

Alexi Boyd [00:33:32]:

So which of those different associations, what’s their policy focus? And really deep diving into those industries. So that’s what the show is about now and it’s to help people connect with that ecosystem, the advocacy world, help them understand what they do in a practical sense, which policy areas are the most important to them. And then ending up with how can you get involved if you have the time and you’re interested in doing that?

Joanna Oakey [00:33:57]:

Fantastic. Well, we’ll definitely link to it in the show notes. So all of our avid listeners who are running along the beach or doing something active and can’t write that down right now can link to it in the show notes. How about some rapid fire questions? Now I’ve got a few things I’d like to ask you. So how about we see what we can work? Yeah, I love it. I love that face, that face of determination.

Alexi Boyd [00:34:23]:

Doesn’t like it too much though.

Joanna Oakey [00:34:27]:

Okay, next year, what do you see in the future for the next twelve months for small business? What do you think is going to come up?

Alexi Boyd [00:34:35]:

I think the next twelve months small businesses are going to be focused on just keeping their head above water and maintaining some sort of consistent relationship. There’s some great sentiment surveys out there with business New South Wales that talk about not being too concerned about a recession anymore, but still just really worried about keeping those doors open and maintaining their workflow or sorry, their current income. But I think the policy areas that are going to come up industrial relations is a constant. When you have a labor government in they’re constantly going to be tinkering around the edges with that. What does that mean for you and your industry? Because it depends which industry you’re in. So there’s a good reason to connect with the professional associations. Privacy laws are undergoing some change and that will impact every small business owner because they could find themselves under different requirements with the data that they hold. But similarly we’ve got some positives coming out of the woodwork.

Alexi Boyd [00:35:28]:

We’ve got digital id. So the government is looking to centralize the digital id experience for small businesses. We’ve kind of got it already with mygov as people, as humans. Let’s look at that in the small business lens and what that means for people. So there’s constantly things going on in government. I think those will be really important. But hey, could have something crazy like a pandemic hit us again.

Joanna Oakey [00:35:52]:

Oh, don’t stop Alexi. No, please.

Alexi Boyd [00:35:57]:

Energy policy in the next twelve to 24 months. Lots of change there. And again, if you are a cafe owner thinking about opening a cafe in Canberra in 18 months, there are no new gas connections being put in in the act. And if you’re thinking about putting in a gas connection as part of your build, you need to rethink that for b across what’s going on in energy. If you are a larger consumer of energy in your business.

Joanna Oakey [00:36:23]:

Fascinating. Okay, so Cosboa, what’s Cosboa working on now and what’s coming down the pipeline? What are they looking to focus on?

Alexi Boyd [00:36:35]:

I think Cosboa is in a really fantastic place at the moment, increasing membership. A great new CEO. Luke’s doing a fantastic job and I think they work on everything. Cosboa is across all of the different policy areas and working hard in all of those spaces, sitting on dozens of roundtables and being in that space I talked about before, the co design space. So look, it’s a great organization. Keep abreast of what they’re doing too, because they’re really at that real pointy end of policy and it’s a good idea to keep an eye on what’s happening there. Looking at the broader position of small.

Joanna Oakey [00:37:09]:

Businesses, what’s your personal I guess number one concern for small businesses at the.

Alexi Boyd [00:37:17]:

Moment, I think my personal number one concern is probably centered around energy and making sure that small businesses are part of the discussion. When it comes to the macroeconomic decisions the government is making, they’re making some pretty impactful decisions around net zero, transitioning off gas, new builds, what’s happening, the leasing space. There just seems to be a lot of moving pieces there. And this is a really complex area of policy that all of which have touch points in small business. It’s not just about you being somebody who has to figure out how I can reduce my energy costs anymore. Small businesses largely have done that, and they’re a little bit sort of out in the ether, not having any control about what the future looks like. And I just reassure people again, there are groups out there, like energy consumers Australia, who are pushing to make sure that small businesses are part of the designer policy of energy, not just left as an afterthought or worth, still just being treated like households that use slightly bigger pieces of equipment.

Joanna Oakey [00:38:27]:

Yeah, I love it. On the flip side, then, and this is my second last question, what do you see is the biggest opportunity for small businesses right now?

Alexi Boyd [00:38:39]:

Look, I think the biggest opportunity is finding new markets. Because we’re in such a global economy. There are opportunities, if you look at the Department of Trade and Exporting and those sort of things, finding out if there’s new opportunities to grow your business into different areas. Employment. We’ve got an increasingly skilled workforce. We’ve got another generation coming through who are entirely digitized. It’s not even a process of digitization anymore. They are digitized.

Alexi Boyd [00:39:08]:

What can we do to make the most of those new skills and use them as building blocks to improve our business and take it into new directions? And also, I think the advocacy world is really positive. There’s some great people speaking on behalf of small business. So see that as an opportunity to get involved, learn from your peers, find out what’s happening in your industry, and maybe contribute if you’ve got a chance.

Joanna Oakey [00:39:32]:

Love it. And my very last question, it’s about AI. AI has just had so much press this year, obviously, and I feel like there can’t be a small business owner out there who hasn’t had this concept AI pouring over in their mind. What’s your impression of the speed of response of the government and then around it, the small business advocacy groups?

Alexi Boyd [00:40:08]:

I think the government’s looking at this as something new and shiny and something really exciting. But everyone’s quite trepidacious about what might be happening. So there’s a lot of looking to overseas and seeing how those people in this policy space who have moved a bit faster than Australia, in the US and the UK, for example, what are they doing in this space? And I think small businesses are those who embrace change and those who embrace things like digitization, they’ve done that in the past, are probably already embracing it and playing around with it and practicing it. I hate to say to be repetitive, but this is another great way that you can get into an industry group and find out how is everybody else using it? Ask your peers, what are they playing around with and find out. But there’ll be people who are already used to embracing change, who are fine with it in terms of what the government’s doing. Are they moving fast enough? I’m not an expert in this field, so I would suggest it’s probably a good combination of looking at what’s happening overseas, listening to good advocates like the tech Council, like the Spark festival, and startup muster, who has some great information about AI. But it’s a bit of a data gathering exercise at the moment because small businesses here in Australia, whilst they are early adopters of change, they’re not too flighty. They will look at it carefully and do their research for the most part.

Alexi Boyd [00:41:33]:

And because they’re so heavily digitized, they’re used to using apps, they’re used to using add ons, they’re used to using accounting software. This is just an extension of that rather than something to be feared. So I think small businesses in Australia are smarter than that. They’ll learn from one another about how to adopt this technology. And meanwhile, the government hopefully, will learn from best practice from overseas and from experts we have here in this country as to how to redress it and also to make sure that it’s kept under control.

Joanna Oakey [00:42:02]:

Well, it’s an area, I think, clearly, of a lot of opportunity, a lot of fear, but a lot of fast movement. So that brings itself some challenges, obviously. Look, Alexi, I just want to say a huge thank you for coming onto the show today. Any of our listeners who want to go and stalk you, you know, digitally, find where you are, find where you are, listen to your show, why don’t you give us those names and how they can find you?

Alexi Boyd [00:42:39]:

Sure. Well, they can just Google small biz matters in their search engine and maybe subscribe to the newsletter so you can find out who’s coming on the show each week. So we have a weekly show with a different expert each week, which is really exciting. And stalk me on LinkedIn. That’s where my baby is, LinkedIn. I’ve been working hard on that for many, many years. So I’d love to connect with people and also just maybe follow the LinkedIn page for small business matters and then you’ll get it in your feed as well.

Joanna Oakey [00:43:08]:

Love it. Alexi, you have been so generous with your time. I’ve just absolutely loved this discussion. Thank you so much for coming on our podcast today.

Alexi Boyd [00:43:17]:

It’s been delightful. Thanks, Joanna.

Outro [00:43:20]:

Thanks for listening to talking law. Tune in next time for more smart legal tips and tricks to keep you clear of those legal landmines. If you want to get a download of today’s show notes, head over to talkinglaw.com au. Information in this podcast is general in nature, not legal advice. If you want advice for your business, visit talkinglaw.com au.

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