Hearing what's unsaid: self-employed clients

This article is the first in a series of Business Health insight pieces drawn from the most recent analysis of our CATScan Client Satisfaction Survey data. 

The CATScan dataset now contains feedback from over 45,000 Australian clients, all of whom are using the services of a financial adviser. As such, these findings are unique in the Australian advice marketplace and exclusive to Business Health. We hope you find them of interest and value as you build out your plans for the year(s) ahead.

There are now over two million active small businesses in Australia (2,520,419 to be exact) and, as we all know, many of these self-employed business owners fit the ideal age, income and need profile for advice firms:

• 40% of Australian SME owners are aged 45-59 and 33% are aged 30-44, per the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombusman. 
  
  
• 901,280 small businesses have annual turnover of between $200,000 and $5,000,000.
  
  
• According to Business Health data, only 15% of SME owners who are clients of an adviser have a buy/sell or business succession agreement.

There is no doubt that quality financial advice delivered by a professional adviser can add enormous value to the owners of these businesses. However, as attractive as the self-employed market segment is, recent analysis of our CATScan Client Satisfaction Survey data suggests that many practices may be struggling to satisfy their small business owners.

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