Australians fail to act on millions of business ideas
A survey reveals that 67% of Australians have had ideas about new products and services, yet only 22% have acted to bring a new idea to the market.
The Westpac Business Ideas Report was conducted by Lonergan Research on behalf of Westpac. A total of 1090 Australians aged 18 and over and 1007 Australian small business owners were surveyed. The surveys were conducted between 22 December 2014 and 6 January 2015.
‘The Westpac Business Ideas Report has found that many Australians spend a large proportion of time thinking about new products or services, but they are having trouble bringing these ideas to market,’ said Julie Rynski, General Manager Small Business at Westpac. ‘More than half of Australians say they have forgotten about new business ideas in their lifetime. This could amount to around 64 million forgotten ideas nationwide.
‘There are a lot of missed opportunities for could-be entrepreneurs and current businesses to bring new and innovative concepts to market.’
There are a lot of missed opportunities for could-be entrepreneurs and current businesses to bring new and innovative concepts to market.
Key findings – national
- The majority – 75%– of existing business owners who are familiar with the process of bringing new ideas to market believe it is particularly difficult to bring something new to market in Australia.
- The most common items that would people think would help them launch their business ideas are:
o more time – 37 %
o more capital – 35%
o access to technology – 26 %
- The 67% of Australians who have had ideas about new products and services have had an average of 10.9 ideas each.
- The majority – 54%– of Aussies have then forgotten about their new business ideas. They have forgotten on average 7.3 ideas – this accounts for 64.2 million forgotten ideas.
- Only one in five – 22%– have launched a business idea.
- The most common places Australians have their best business ideas are:
o in bed – 23%
o in the shower – 15%
o when commuting – 13%
- More men had new business ideas than women – 71% of men with an average of 13.4 ideas, 64% of women with an average of 8.3.
Key findings – state
- NSW has the highest number of people not launching their ideas – 59%. The national average was 53%.
- Victorians have forgotten the fewest business ideas at an average of 5.8 – the national average was 7.3.
- South Australians have the highest number of business ideas that they did not launch at 8.6 – the national average was 6.8.
Connect Now
In 2014 Westpac announced the arrival of Connect Now, a cutting-edge digital video conference service.
The service will connect business customers across Australia with teams of specialist advisors through high speed conferencing technology.
‘Westpac’s Connect Now service gives customers from around Australia access to business specialists to facilitate the growth of new business ideas or existing business expansion plans. The local knowledge of our in-branch business bankers combined with the expertise of the Connect Now specialists can help turn your business ideas into a reality,’ added Ms Rynski.
