This page outlines the main results of our four year long survey (1997-2001) of the themes and interest areas people said they were interested in.

As a result of this analysis, we redesigned this site in early 2002 to reflect the themes you said you are most interested in.

Surprisingly, the current results remain similar overall, which means only occasional "fine-tuning" has been needed since... To see the current survey results, accurate to today's date, please login here (you must be registered to view the results).

Themes Surveyed

Significantly, the top three responses were just so close, with only 1.8% separating first from third.

1. Practical Steps in Starting a Small Business.

   First overall, 31.4% of respondents wanted practical steps in starting a small business. In the first year of the survey, this was ranked third at 26.9%, but in the last three years, has been ranked first with an average of 32.7%.

   So, as people turn to the Internet to find out how to start a business, some practical assistance and gentle reminders could be helpful to avoid some of the pitfalls...
   More...

   

2. Grow Your Business

   Second overall, 30.4% wanted to increase their small business profit. In each of the four years of the survey, this particular theme has maintained a constant share of the interest, being ranked second in every year.

   No brilliant schemes to make you rich overnight (although there are plenty of them!) Just some common sense ideas to make life a bit easier...
   More...

3. Manage Your Small Business Effectively.

   In third place overall, 29.6% of respondents needed help to manage their small business effectively. In the first year of the survey, this theme was ranked first with 32.7%. It dropped to third place in the next year at 26.7%. Interest in this has continued to grow to be 30.1% in the past 12 months.

   Many new demands are being placed on the time that small business operators have, so effective use of time is one of the keys to good management. We've got hints on how to beat those timewasters that can consume your day!
   More...

4. Other themes - "Improving Your Lifestyle", "Emergency Strategies to Save Your Business" - barely rated any interest. You certainly made it obvious (68.7%) that you do not want information on "Downsizing Your Business". These areas will not be pursued in our redesigned site.

Interest Areas Surveyed

Australian Business people said they are most interested in receiving:

1. Ideas to start or improve their business.

   Coming in first overall, and first in every year of the survey, 20.8% of respondents want ideas to start or improve their business. This has grown slightly every year, from 19.0% in the first year, to 22.8% in the past twelve months.

   Wonderful things DO come to those who dream and act! Without action, all those wonderful ideas are just hot air...

   We are dreamers here at SBSN, so ideas are plentiful... You too probably have got a squillion ideas you could follow up on at any one time...

   The challenge is recognising which brilliant idea to use... and then work out how to put it into practice...

   Hopefully, there's some good ideas you can put into action in the theme areas above.

2. How to do business on the web.

   Second overall 15.3% of respondents want to know how to do business on the web. Although ranked third in the past twelve months, there's been some even jostling between 2nd and 3rd position each year over the whole survey.

   Let's face it... there's a plethora of (mis)information out there about this very topic! It's amazing that people are still making the same mistakes that were being made when we first started online over six years ago... and then keep reinventing wheels never designed to turn...

   At SBSN, we've been running businesses on-line since mid 1995, so we might just have some fair dinkum, reliable information on how you can do business on the WWW...
   More here...

3. Business promotional tools.

   Just marginally behind in third pace overall, some 14.4% want information on business promotional tools. In the last twelve months however, there's been strong interest in this area, scoring 15.2% of responses, ranking second in that period.

   Promoting an on-line business is an "interesting" activity... There are certain things you must do and there are many things you could do... (and even avoid). It's important you spend your time on activities that generate results.

   It's one of the main reasons why we established SBSN way back then... to help people effectively promote their business online...
   More here...

4. Networking opportunities.

   Scoring an overall average of 13.6% of responses, and coming in fourth overall and almost every year, is networking opportunities with other SBSN users.

   We've always said, right from the start, that the key word to success in business anywhere is "network". "Who you know" applies even more so when you are in business on-line. SBSN's tools help you get in touch with other businesses...
   More here...

5. Other responses. The alternate responses to this question scored significantly lower results. Briefly, these are (in overall rank order):
   5. 8.4% - regular email newsletters on topics of interest.
   6. 7.7% - links and summaries of relevant articles on the net
   7. 5.8% - links and summaries of other business sites on the net
   8. 5.4% - opportunities to enhance listing on SBSN
   9. 5.2% - discussion forums with other SBSN users
   10. 3.5% - press release/news announcement services

   These low responses suggest that:
   • small business people just don't have the time available to spend on activities like reading email and taking part in forums. Time may also be a factor in item 10, where the time involved to prepare one's own announcements, and read other people's news items, outweighs any benefit.
   • a web site should strive to be a "one-stop shop" and provide as many answers as possible. Sites that are merely links to other sources aren't liked, probably again due to the time factor.
   • at the time of taking the survey, respondents may not have understood items 8 and 10 fully, which may explain consistently low rankings despite their "usefulness" in achieving the objectives for items 3 and 4 above.

Stephen Spry
Webmaster, SBSN.
1st December 2001