Aust Govt vs Google with small business in the middle. Plus, Digital Solutions to jump start your business.

Small Biz Matters – #195 Providing the small business community with educational content and advocacy since 2014
with Alexi Boyd, broadcaster, advocate and small business owner.
Date: 9 February 2021

So the Australian Government in defence of one industry, has decided to take on the giants of the tech world and this may affect that proportion of small businesses that rely on those giants for marketing, sales, data storage, functionality, admin, our processes.... Pretty much everything. I know what you’re thinking - that’s basically all of us.

It’s like a David and Goliath battle with small business playing Piggy in the Middle.

So, how concerned should small business be that this currently slightly worrying news story may implode our businesses? Is the threat real or just grandstanding? Will it turn our online worlds upside down or are we just going to pivot to a new search engine?

There’s no one else who’s better positioned to allay our fears (or perhaps make them worse) than Seamus Byrne. With decades of experience as an Award-winning journalist and broadcaster covering the future of technology, videogames and digital culture he’s going to explain the current situation and what you, as a small business, need to know.

• What is the fight between google and the gov about?
• Is the google threat real? Or just a bit of grandstanding to help get their view out?
• What’s the most likely outcome here? Is there a middle ground? Or is it all or nothing on both sides.
• Worst case scenario and google leaves ... are we screwed? Or could we adjust to a life of Bing or Duck duck go?
• How should we prepare as small business? Or is it wait and see what happens?

To find out more go to their website: https://byteside.com/category/shows/byteside/

For many small businesses the thought of digital solutions encompasses a long list of To Dos which can quite frankly, be overwhelming. Between website, social media, admin, maintaining data, compliance and learning all the above, getting a foothold in the digital space is almost as challenging as starting the actual business itself!

So how do you prioritise which digital solution to use for which problem? What aspects are important when getting your business started, ramping it up or growing quickly? And what client behaviours in all of these aspects should influence your decisions?

Dinesh De Silva is the founder of netStripes,  a leading authority on digital innovation and has helped over 7000 businesses to understand and implement digital solutions. He’s joining me in conversation today to help you prioritise the MUST DOs above the nice to have and help you overcome those hurdles of overwhelm to nail all the digital spaces.

• Behaviour of Consumer/customers have changed dramatically with the pandemic, how can business owners understand and then cater to these changes successfully ?
• In this new year, what are the top 3 things Small and Medium business must do to keep their businesses progressing despite the pandemic
• Are there success stories of businesses who have taken these steps in the most affected industries, and what have they done differently?
• What is stopping a business owners taking this action despite the transformation of results they can achieve

To find out more go to their website: https://www.netstripes.com/

About our Guest:

Dinesh De Silva – Founder of NetStripes

Dinesh is a leading authority on Small and Medium Business Digital Innovation. His current passion is to empower 1 Million SMEs to accelerate their business growth through Digital Innovation, which he believes can change the course of small businesses in this country, whilst creating millions of jobs across the world.

Having worked with over 7,000 business owners in recent years, he is regularly called upon to share these deep insights as a thought leader. Media appearances include ABC News, ABC Radio, Sky Business, Sky News, AFR, and CIO.