December Small Business Momentum Survey

One in two (53 per cent) of businesses say they anticipate the coming year will be a difficult period, compared to only one in twenty (5 per cent) who anticipate it will offer a more favourable trading environment, according to the final Small Business Momentum Survey for 2022.

Looking back at 2022, 48 per cent of businesses indicated that the statement ‘My business is now or remains in a strong position’ is true or mostly true for their business compared to 52 per cent who said it was not true.

Confidence levels declined significantly over the course of 2022, as small businesses navigated inflationary pressures, staff shortages, interest rate rises and concerns about weaker household consumption.

This latest survey showed that expectations about revenue and profitability fell further in December, with nearly one in two businesses (44 per cent) expecting profits to decline over the next three months. Increased input costs and concerns about decreased consumer spend appear to account for the expected decline in profitability reported by some respondents.

The NSW Small Business Commissioner can help businesses deal with common challenges and assist them in preparing for difficult times.

There are resources on where to get help if you are experiencing financial hardship as well as our mediation service to help resolve business to business and retail lease disputes.

To help with disasters and emergencies, learn how to build a Business Continuity Plan and prepare or recover from disaster with our Get ready for disasters kit.