The first day of the 2023 CommBank SmallBiz Week conference was insight-packed from start to finish, attracting huge crowds of growth-focused small businesses at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium.
In a room overlooking Port Phillip Bay, where late-autumn sunshine bounced off the sparkling water, business leaders roamed past stall after bustling stall—collecting armfuls of swag, expert advice and important industry connections along the way.
At the presentations, seats quickly filled with diligent note-takers, absorbing as much information as possible in back-to-back sessions designed to help small businesses survive and thrive in these uncertain times. Here are just a few of the day’s key takeaways.
Small businesses are a big target for cybercrime
In an industry panel on the importance of cybersecurity, Amy Morgan, executive manager of small business banking at CommBank, noted that cyberattacks are “becoming a lot more sophisticated, and changing week on week.”
Small businesses are a big target for cybercrime, the panel said, because criminals know they may not have the knowledge or resources to protect themselves.
Email compromise is one of the most devastating avenues of attack, according to Darren Pauli, Senior Project Specialist at Telstra, including the interception and doctoring of invoices. This is yet another reason businesses should embrace e-invoicing, which exchanges invoice data through an encrypted network for extra security and peace of mind.
The panel, which also included Matthew Addison, Director and Chair at COSBOA, and Tim Smith, National Membership Manager at Family Business Association, had some other tips for beefing up cybersecurity:
- Take a beat to stop and consider all requests for cash. If something smells off, it probably is.
- Email and text scams can look incredibly real and can even come from trusted contacts, if they’ve been hacked. Call the number you have for them, or look for one online, to verify any strange links or requests.
- Cybercriminals will intentionally target small businesses during busy periods, so be careful not to drop your guard.
- Share your experiences with cyberattacks, so others know what to look out for.
- Set up multi-factor authentication—SMS is good, an app is even better.
- Don’t reuse passwords. Use a password manager and create strong, unique passwords.
- Don’t “snooze” automatic updates—the minute you do that, you’ve made your computer vulnerable.
The panel also recommended that small businesses appoint “cyber wardens“, in the same way you would have first-aid or fire wardens, and that they practise “cyber drills”. For example, if you came to work and couldn’t use your computer, what would you do? Are your files backed up? Do you have cyber insurance? (If so, keep the details in hardcopy rather than online.)
AI and the Future of Work
How will AI change the way we work? Completely and irreversibly, according to a panel on new tech and automation.
But there are plenty of positives here—tasks will become easier and faster to complete, and rather than replacing workers, it will free them up to focus on other areas and adopt new skills.
As a former small business owner herself, Kim Hughes, GM, digital and transformation, CommBank, had some good advice to share:
- Make a list of the tasks that take the most time and that you hate the most. Then consider AI solutions on the market that might help with them. (For example, writing emails, website copy, customer research, and so on.)
- Make another list of tasks you’d love to do to propel your business forward or safeguard it against risk. Consider how AI could help with these.
- Set aside 30-60 minutes a week to experiment with AI. We’re all in the learning phase with this technology, so “actioning it in a methodical way” will help you stay ahead of the curve, Hughes said.
Funding hacks for growth
With interest rate movements and the rising cost of living, the panel discussed funding and growth hacks to enable growth and cash flow management.
Kerryn Saward, GM, commercial transaction products and growth, CommBank, directed small businesses to CommBank Business Benefits Finder, where you can find “90 government grants and areas of assistance to businesses.” Kerryn also suggested small businesses explore the CommBank Small Business hub to find tools and resources to help navigate the current cost-of-living environment.
Thomas Bligh, Grants Development Consultant at Grants Office Australia, recommended state government websites, and said he was a big fan of the Energy Efficiency Grants for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in particular. However, he cautioned against using ChatGPT to write your grant applications, as it “hallucinates” and “makes things up”.
This is just a taste of the advice and insights that got business brains buzzing on Day One of the SmallBiz Week conference, with many more to follow from Day Two.
Find out more about small business resources, support, tools and resources at commbank.com.au/smallbusiness
