Millennials, widely accepted to be those born between 1981 to 1996, now run more than a third of Australia’s small businesses according to new research by Xero.
The research, of 1,226 small businesses across the country, found that 56 per cent of millennial owners were actively looking for a new adviser due to the lack of contact or poor level of service they received from their current adviser.
Just under half of millennial owners said they were contacted less than twice a year by their accountant or bookkeepers and almost half of them said they rarely, if ever, receive insights from their adviser.
“Millennials are quickly becoming the biggest contributors to the small business economy in Australia and they’re quickly dispelling the myths that often follow them – they are ambitious and ready to take on the world,” said Rachael Powell, chief customer officer at Xero.
“Every business needs strong advisers to ensure they stay on track and have the right ingredients to grow and thrive.
“In our research we saw a massive opportunity for accountants and bookkeepers to take up the challenge and ensure they’re giving this new generation of small businesses what they need – regular contact, incisive insight and the ability to go beyond the numbers to the issues that matter most to owners. Practices who get this right will not only have happier clients but greater opportunities to grow their own business.”
The research also found that millennial owners are more ambitious than their forebears when it comes to growing their operations, with close to one in three keen to expand their business into new areas and markets.
