When bigger is better

Tick off the checklist when your business is ready to hang up the “positions vacant” sign

- Anthony O'Brien

Small business is big business, accounting for nearly 98% of all the nation’s commercial enterprises. Among them, sole traders have the strength of numbers, comprising a whopping 62% of small businesses. That’s close to 800,000 businesses owned and operated by just one person.

Being a one-man-band provides absolute control plus plenty of agility. The downside can be capacity constraints. There’s only so much one person can do in a day, and suitably skilled contractors may not always be available when you need them (see breakout, “Talent on hand when it’s needed”).

Hiring employees can give your business the resources it needs to grow. But it also comes with a raft of responsibilities you may never have had to deal with before, and it’s important to get things right from the start.

“When hiring staff, regardless of whether they are casual or full-time, all small business owners need to know what is required under Fair Work Australia,” says Anne Nalder, founder and CEO of the Small Business Association of Australia (SBAA). She points to compliance requirements such as superannuation and correct wages. “This area alone is complex and fraught with danger for the small business owner. The penalties for failure to comply are harsh.”