As one of Australia’s leading lenders to self-employed business owners, RedZed wanted to gauge and better understand how the SME sector is going in the throes of the pandemic and the shifting, challenging market conditions it keeps facing.

Australia’s self-employed and small business owners have continued to show resilience and are generally optimistic and confident about their futures according to new research.

This is the key finding of the second RedZed Self-Employed Business Index: a breakthrough report that takes the pulse of this critical market segment in the Australian economy.

The survey comes after a year of turbulent market conditions including the ongoing impact of the pandemic, staff shortages, weather related catastrophes, disruption to supply chains, and rising interest rates and inflation.

But the self-employed have also battled to secure much-needed loans from the major banks, with the research finding many struggle to meet the arduous lending requirements. 

With the Reserve Bank’s cash rate sitting at 2.85% and predicted to hit 3.1% by December, the resilience and optimism of Australia’s self-employed will be put to the test, with RedZed reporting a shift in client sentiment in the weeks since conducting its research.   

Over 500 self-employed business owners took part in the 2022 Index, with research conducted between July and October 2022.

Read the RedZed Self-Employed Business Index