According to international business author and IT entrepreneur Mathew Dickerson, the Gold Coast’s large number of SMEs will see its economy recover much faster than capital cities.
Dickerson says cities with many small operators that collectively turn over big revenues will benefit from fast reactions to the changing economy and diversified risk.
“Lots of SMEs can make a very large contribution to an economy and by spreading the risk over many small businesses an economy can recover much faster,” says Dickerson.
“One of the greatest advantages of SMEs is that they can react very quickly to market changes whereas big corporations are much more conservative with decision making. A strategic decision that might take six months in a large business often takes days to execute at an SME level.”
As the founder of services provider AXXIS Technology, Dickerson regularly travels around the country as a keynote speaker and says he is already seeing economic recovery in smaller cities.
“What I’m seeing in the larger capital cities is that people are still talking about the downturn in the economy whereas the Gold Coast and cities with similar populations such as Adelaide and Canberra are recovering before really feeling the effects,” says Dickerson.
“SMEs can also be very quick to fill any market gaps; they are seeing opportunities and jumping straight on them.”
Dickerson says the unique attributes of the most recent downturn mean those providing ‘basic services’ have rarely seen the effects.
“This downturn has been a lot different than others, such as those seen in the 1980s. Having revolved so much around NYSE (New York Stock Exchange), it hasn’t had as big an impact on SMEs,” he says.
“Most people providing basic services, as long as their clients weren’t all tied up in the ASX, have been able to alter their business to accommodate the changing needs of their customers.”
Gold Coast Business News is giving away two copies of Dickerson’s latest book Small Business Rules. Email tr@gcbn.com.au with ‘small business book’ in the subject to enter.
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