A new generation of young Australian small business owners is redefining success, driven by a desire to create a lasting legacy through the positive impact they make in their communities and the businesses they plan to pass down to their families.

The research commissioned by American Express explores the aspirations of Australian small business owners and how prepared they are to achieve them. It revealed notable differences between younger and older generations in how they define long-term success.

While 53% of all small business owners say leaving a legacy is important, this figure rises among younger generations, with 64% of Millennials and 59% of Gen Z operators focused on leaving a legacy compared to less than half (45%) of owners from older generations.

For more than a third (38%) of small business owners, legacy means making a positive impact in their community, with almost half (48%) of Millennials saying it’s the type of legacy most meaningful to them.

Liana Kohn-Gardner, Vice President of Merchant Partnerships, Global Merchant Services A/NZ at American Express said, “These younger generations have grown up as digital natives with rich online communities, and what our research shows is that as business owners, they also care about making a difference in their real-life communities too. We found that many want to give back to their community, and they hope this continues as their legacy.”

After leaving a positive community impact, small business owners said that passing their business onto family (29%), creating a brand that outlasts them (25%) and building generational wealth (25%) are important legacies.

For younger generations, small business is a family affair

With 81% of Australian small business owners surveyed being the original founder, succession planning is deeply personal. More than half of Millennial (55%) and Gen Z (53%) business owners say they want to pass their business onto family as a legacy. By contrast, the older generations are most likely to sell their business for the proceeds. Just 37% of Gen X and 40% of Baby Boomer and Older business owners intend to pass their business onto family.

“For younger generations in particular, we see that family is an important part of their business’ success. Four in ten Millennial business owners already employ family in their business today, significantly more than older generations, as they see them as trustworthy, naturally invested in their success and believe they understand the long-term vision of the business,” said Liana Kohn-Gardner.

Long-term aspirations, short term priorities

While Australia’s small business operators may aspire to leave a lasting legacy, the research uncovered that most (65%) don’t yet have a succession plan in place. This figure is highest among Gen Zs, with almost half (43%) not having thought about succession plans – more than double any other generation.

Matthew Addison, Chair of the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) said, “The Amex research found that more than half (62%) of small business owners plan only a year ahead or less, reflecting the fact that small business owners are some of the busiest people in the country. Even if small business owners haven’t had a chance to formalise their succession plans yet, some things that might be helpful for them to consider is who might step into key roles, how would customer relationships and business knowledge be passed on, and how finances would be managed through a transition. Forward planning gives business owners the best chance to protect what they’ve built and ensure their legacy.

Turning aspirations into action

While just one in ten (10%) small business owners are looking five years into the future, growth ambition is strong: 43% cite financial security as their number one motivator for expansion, followed by creating more freedom through passive income or work-life balance (30%).

But cashflow remains a critical barrier to growth. More than a quarter (28%) of small business owners have had to turn down growth opportunities due to cashflow constraints, with millennials (41%) and Gen Z (39%) operators the most affected.

While many rely on personal savings (44%), others are making the most of financial tools, with more than a quarter (27%) using business credit or charge cards, one in five (19%) using business loans and about one in 10 (11%) using flexible payment options included in cards.

Liana Kohn-Gardner said, “Cashflow can be one of the most frustrating barriers to growth for small business owners because they know they have a great business, but they can’t scale up if their outgoings aren’t matching the incomings. Our Amex Business Charge Cards provide the flexibility for business owners at all stages of growth, while also providing rich rewards for eligible business spending.

“The Platinum Business Charge Card gives business owners breathing space with up to 55 daysⁱ to pay for purchases and access to our Flexible Payment Optionⁱⁱ, which can help to bridge the gaps between incoming and outgoing payments. It also features AccessLine®ⁱⁱⁱ, a platform where business owners can make domestic payments to suppliers, even if they don’t accept Amex, all while earning points to reward their hard work. This is all about truly backing small business owners with products and services that meet their needs so they can focus on doing what they do best – growing great Aussie businesses.”

Other findings of interest

81% of Australian small business owners are the original founder.

More than half (55%) of Australian small businesses have been operating for more than 5 years, and a third (33%) have been operating for more than 10 years.

1 in 10 of Australian small business owners are already operating overseas, and more than a quarter (28%) either have plans in place to expand globally or would like to.

A third (31%) of Australian small business owners have at least one family member on their payroll, with 15 per cent planning to in the future.

Of those that say they want their family to take on their business, more than four in five people (87%) want to eventually pass on the business to family, compared to 13% who want to sell their business to family.

More than half (62%) of small business owners plan only a year ahead or less.

Nakie

Jaryd, Tegan and Dean Leibbrandt

Queensland-based sustainable lifestyle brand Nakie embodies the Millennial purpose-driven approach with family still at the core. Founded by siblings Dean and Jaryd Leibbrandt and Dean’s wife Tegan, the family business creates hammocks, blankets and backpacks from recycled materials. Since 2019, Nakie has saved more than 22 million plastic bottles from landfill. They also plant four trees for every product they sell and have so far planted more than 2.5 million trees in Kenya and Madagascar.

Dean Leibbrandt, Co-founder of Nakie said, “We don’t have any plans to sell the business but our goal is to one day pass it on to future generations. For us, legacy is about proving you can build something that makes a difference. Every product we sell means more trees planted and more plastic kept out of landfill. What we are most proud of is influencing larger, global brands to embrace recycled materials and rethink how our industry can do better.

“We use the American Express Platinum Business Card extensively in our business and it has become an essential tool for us because of the 55 days of cashflow flexibility. That breathing room makes a huge difference in our bigger months because it continues to allow us to invest heavily in advertising and growth while we wait for invoices to be paid. It allows us to keep scaling while staying true to our mission. We’ve even been able to use our Amex points to visit our tree-planting sites in Africa.”