Even when the pandemic was at full tilt, you could find evidence of the resilience and grit of Australian businesses at every turn. From restaurants devising new takeaway tactics to endless low-touch strategies and tech to keep trading alive, business never lay down.
It’s not surprising therefore that as we approach the end of 2023 – with the COVID era finally fading into the rear-view mirror – the business mood is one of resilience and positivity, despite a sniff of a COVID hangover still shaping what businesses need to do to survive and thrive.
4 features of today’s business mood
- Lingering COVID headache
Whether they faced impossible staff shortages, unprecedented supply chain issues, cash flow shortfalls or complete operating model overhauls, the impacts of the pandemic are still well and truly being felt by many businesses, creating feelings of uncertainty about where things are heading and how they should steer their business in the new post-covid environment for success.
- Cost of living load
Both the cost of living and cost of doing business represent a significant headwind for businesses as they grapple with how to make ends meet. As staff face increased costs at home there is pressure for pay increases, whilst the rise of the cost of doing business is making these near impossible to afford. A key decision is also whether to bear the increased costs or pass them on to customers – and what that might do to sales and revenue.
- Focus on the bottom line
The upshot of these pressures is that businesses are more focused on balancing their books than ever before, and increasingly focused on the bottom line. Where bottom line costs might have been set-and-forget before, they’re now coming up as considerations in every business decision or conversation. If we saved here, what could we do over here? Do we really need this? Could that investment be better used in another place? And the answer to every question is becoming: “I’ll have to look at how that stacks up on the bottom line.”
- Personal backdrop infiltrating
The past few years have taken an emotional toll on business owners as they emerge from a prolonged period of feeling stretched and pushed to their limits to simply survive. They’ve been forced to prioritise ‘must-haves’ whilst down-weighting ‘nice to haves’ which has had the effect of keeping them from living and working with a kick in their stride. Despite this, they have a heightened sese of gratitude that they’re still operating, and a strong sense of determination and resilience for their future prospects.
How Zembl can help with the business bottom line
Zembl is an Australian energy broker that has saved businesses a total of $6.06 million on their energy bills and bottom lines since July 2023.*
We’re not an online comparison platform – our team looks at each business as an individual case to solve, depending on your meter data and type, business preferences and other factors.
By filling out our contact form and uploading your bill, our team will get in touch with you and present the most competitive options available.
In our experience, sitting on rising costs and doing nothing could lead to energy bills up to 25% more expensive than they need to be, so why wait? Start taking control of your energy costs today.
The insights in this article are drawn from an August – September 2023 Study of Australian Businesses, “Connected Ecosystem”, by Fiftyfive5, Part of Accenture Song.
*This is the total estimated annual savings for Zembl customers between the 1 July-25 October 2023.
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