Episode 63

The Latest Small Business Owner Insights from Xero

Published on: 7th September, 2025

Welcome to this weeks’ episode of The Australian Small Business Show!

Today we are unpacking the results of a recent report produced by Xero called ‘It’s Your Business – How Entrepreneurs are Redefining Their Success in Today’s World’.

There are 2.6m small businesses in Australia, making up 97% of all businesses, contributing $590bn to GDP and employing 5.4m people.

Xero surveyed 500 Australian small business owners for this survey and the findings were really interesting. We really enjoyed unpacking some of the key concepts and findings in this discussion.

Entrepreneur Archetypes

The research identifies three main archetypes:

Lifestyle Entrepreneurs (47%)

Motivated by freedom, work-life balance, and doing work they enjoy. Success= time with family, flexibility, and meaningful work.

Ambitious Achievers (30%)

Motivated by growth, brand-building, and financial independence. Success = scaling fast, creating legacies, building household names.

Situational Founders (23%)

Motivated by circumstance (redundancy, migration, lack of jobs). Success = stability, independence, and serving their communities.

Success, Goals & Gaps

Most entrepreneurs feel successful (96% say they are or on the way), but:

Only 31% have an endgame (succession or exit strategy).

Nearly half (49%) lack long-term goals beyond 3 years.

43% don’t have a succession plan – leaving future continuity at risk.

Power of Advisory & Support Networks

86% of entrepreneurs use an advisor (accountant, bookkeeper, coach). Those who do: 62% reported revenue growth (vs 37% without) and 74% feel confident running their business (vs 53% without).

Advisors influence more than compliance – trust, emotional support, strategy, tech adoption, and HR guidance.

Beyond advisors, owners rely on Google, peers, and family/friends for advice – not always reliable.

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* Disclaimer: The information shared on The Australian Small Business Show is general in nature and does not constitute professional advice, legal or otherwise. We recommend consulting with your advisors on your specific circumstances.

Mentioned in this episode:

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About the Podcast

The Australian Small Business Show
The Australian Small Business Show has been created by small business owners, for small business owners.

Your hosts Matt Heighway and Kristy-Lee Billett, who have both been running businesses for over 15 years, will bring our first hand experiences to offer insights, advice and inspiration to help you build a successful small business.

Each week we’ll discuss one specific strategy, topic, resource or tip that’s relevant for every small business, and we’ll be inviting along some amazing guests and friends in business to share their expertise with you.

Whether you're starting out, scaling up or a seasoned small business owner, this Australian Small Business Show is the show for you.

About your hosts

Kristy-Lee Billett

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Kristy is a nationally recognised HR expert, passionate small business advocate, podcast host, mum, wife, beach lover and runner.

She has spent more than 20 years now working in the field of Human Resources, People Management and Recruitment.

For the last 10 years she has dedicated herself to exclusively supporting small to medium sized businesses, those who employ less than 100 staff with all aspects of their HR, recruitment, people management and resource structures.

She founded her first business in 2006, and today she continues to direct this business, which is now known as People Powered Business.

Today She loves working with businesses inside our People Powered HR community to help them gain the knowledge, tools and resources to handle absolutely anything when it comes to their teams, with complete confidence.

Matt Heighway

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Matt is a CPA who has been working with business owners in multiple capacities for well over two decades. After commencing his career as an Accountant and Business Adviser, his own national start-up won numerous business awards and was featured in BRW fast 100. Since the business sold, he has been working with small-medium business owners helping them with business growth strategies and holistic business coaching.

Matt also is the Director of Lifetime SMSF, an accounting practice that specialises in Self-Managed Super Funds. Helping Australians manage their retirement nest eggs has been a lifelong project for Matt and he continues to get joy from helping.

Matt is a lifelong learner who loves to chat with other business owners. he is passionate about small business and always wants to see them win. He is at his best when things need turning around though, and gets his motivation helping small business owners come back from a set back.