SMALL businesses with less than 20 employees represent almost 98 per cent of all businesses in Joondalup.
Therefore the theme for yesterday’s City of Joondalup business forum was Small Business Support – Start, Grow, Prosper.
More than 140 members of the local business community attended the breakfast at Joondalup Resort to hear from WA Small Business Development commissioner and Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC) chief executive David Eaton.
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Mr Eaton, who also presented at Joondalup business forum in 2015, was invited to present an overview of various State Government-funded support services for local businesses.
This followed the results of the City’s business needs survey, which indicated many local businesses needed more help to improve their skills in areas such as online marketing, information technology and business strategy.
Mr Eaton gave said it was great to see the City adopting a positive approach to supporting local small businesses.
“Signing up to the SBDC’s Small Business Friendly Local Governments initiative showed the City’s public commitment to the sector,” he said.
“From being one of the initiative’s early adopters, 29 other local authorities in WA have now made the commitment.”
He also applauded the City for its new website that recognised its ratepayers came under two categories: residents and businesses.
Mayor Albert Jacob said small business was the backbone of the City’s economy and it was imperative business owners were aware of the many avenues to help make their business grow and prosper.
“Running and growing a business is not easy – it takes dedication, time, skill and most importantly, it takes courage,” he said.
“The City’s objective to grow employment in the Joondalup city centre to 45,000 jobs by 2050 is well on track.
“We know the local businesses are already beginning to see the benefits of having more workers in the heart of our City generating demand for goods and services.”
Joondalup chief executive Garry Hunt said according to the ABS Census, in 2016 the private sector contributed 83 per cent of all employment in the City – a little over 38,000 of the total 46,000 jobs.
“As a City we want to ensure that all businesses – no matter what size – have access to the right level of support,” he said.