Let's face it, COVID-19 has definitely changed the business landscape and disrupted everyone's way of life. Business owners and entrepreneurs alike know for a fact that in order to become successful, one has to pick up the pieces and do what's possible to move on and overcome the obstacles.

However, it's not necessarily the case for some. Although small businesses and family enterprises form the bulk and backbone of Australia's economy, they are the ones who are hardest hit by the subsequent travel bans, lockdowns, and quarantines that put the economy at a standstill.

The Federal and state governments did their part to reach the bottom of the barrel to provide assistance in order to keep businesses going and people working in these very challenging times. Unfortunately, the budget will end up running in the red so the Jobkeeper was stopped in March 2021.

The Case Study

As they say, the best way to know what's going on is to get to listen to what the affected people are saying. So the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) started a national discussion campaign to better understand what business owners need. In order to avoid any biases, they allowed participants to be incognito so they can share their thoughts and opinions honestly without being judged or identified.

They also teamed up with Mindhive by using its platform to facilitate the discussion and ideation process.

Both ASBFEO and Mindhive have collaborated to boost the reach, engagement, and resonance of the discussion. Organic and paid social media marketing were utilised to directly engage the public and draw new participants into the discussion. Also running in parallel is a two-pronged EDM campaign to bring Mindhive's highly engaged and active users into the discussion so they can drive the conversation forward.

In the end, ASBFEO has gained valuable insights especially on what business owners need and the challenges they face. These actionable insights are expected to help future legislations address all the issues small businesses and family enterprises are facing moving forward. Click here to learn more about the case study.

How We Fit In?

Our platform and enterprise tools perfectly fit what ASBFEO needs. It opens up meaningful discussions on relevant and real-world issues by crowdsourcing ideation, solution, and resolution to experts, thought leaders, and decision-makers who can provide actionable insights that industry leaders and government officials can use to address small businesses and family enterprises face.

Mindhive is used by government, university, corporate and not-for-profit organisations to:

• Boost thought leadership

• Engage the public

• Increase cross-sector communication

• Access to real-time expertise

• Co-design of service delivery

Final Thoughts

Talking about a certain issue is one thing but getting people that really matters to talk about it while engaging with key business leaders and policy decision-makers is even better. Mindhive facilitates the discussion and ideation processes by getting the right people involved so that the resolution of any issue or problem is moved forward until viable, long-lasting solutions are made.

About ASBFEO

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) is an independent advocate for small business owners with the legislative powers to effectively influence lawmakers to ensure legislation and regulations are put in place to help small businesses and family enterprises grow. The office also provides assistance should they find themselves involved in a business dispute.

For more information, visit their website at www.asbfeo.gov.au.