Originally published in The Canberra Times

By Bruce Billson

For many small business owners, they will be happy to put the year behind them. 2025 has seen a myriad of changes impacting small business, on top of a period that tested the resilience of too many, like never before. New and more complex regulatory requirements, rising input costs, margin squeezes, supply chain disruptions, and shifting consumer behaviours have all taken their toll.

Encouragingly, as we approach 2026, enterprising women and men are displaying their renowned relentless optimism with a noticeable spring in their step. With the modest uptick in business conditions last quarter and a sense of delicious possibilities in reach, cautious positivity is paving the way to a renewed sense of hope for the future and a willingness to take action to ensure their small businesses thrive and prosper in the years ahead.

Small and family businesses are the engine room of our economy and the lifeblood of our neighbourhoods and towns. The recent Small Business Ministers' meeting affirmed that governments at all levels are engaged and listening. Ministers committed to cutting red tape, improving disaster resilience, and ensuring timely, accurate information reaches business owners. A stocktake of resources is an early action, to ensure support is easier to find when small and family businesses need it most.

While many of us are winding down and get 'festive fit' for the season ahead, many small businesses are flat out navigating a peak trading period that is vital to keeping their doors open.

These warmer months also bring heightened risk of natural disasters. The impacts of these disasters on small and family businesses can be devastating and can include damaged and destroyed assets, and reduced production and operating revenue. Recovery often takes a heavy toll on small and family business owners, their employees, and their local communities, especially in rural and regional towns.

Small business owners are often community leaders - the first to volunteer, to help a neighbour, to lay sandbags, remove debris, fight fires, rebuild fences, move stock and people to safety. Yet many do not apply the same attentiveness to their own business, with research from the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) finding that as little as one in four small businesses have an up-to-date business continuity plan.

Yet, just as strong summer trading is vital to many small businesses to keep operating, a business continuity plan is essential to be well placed to deal with and recover from an event (whether natural or personal) that can throw a business off course. It allows small business owners to go through what they need to do in the height of great challenge and in the face of physical damage, emotional distress, or mental and physical fatigue.

The ASBFEO Inquiry into Small Business Natural Disaster Preparedness and Resilience found that simple steps including sensible risk mitigation, pre-gathering some vital information, straightforward preparation and bolstering resilience can reduce the impact of extreme weather (and other potentially catastrophic) events and help businesses recover faster. While not complicated, these actions do require a little planning and attention.

As these impacts are difficult to predict, they may be overlooked in disaster planning and recovery decisions.

While impacts can be hard to predict and there are no cure-alls, better preparedness and resilience can help soften the blow and have the small business better placed to recover, enabling impacted businesses to get back on their feet quicker. Use our disaster response checklist to get started:

• Identify risks and potential threats: consider impacts to your business including your assets, systems, employees, finances, and yourself.
• Insurance cover: ensure your business insurance is up-to-date, covers identified risks and policy details and contacts readily to hand.
• Back up and secure your data and documents: store critical records in secure offsite or cloud locations.
• Emergency contact list: compile key contacts and keep a paper copy for offline access.
• Review evacuation procedures: you should have emergency plans and procedures set out as part of your work health and safety (WHS) obligations.
• Set up an emergency management action plan: define roles so everyone knows what needs to be done and who is responsible.
• Create an emergency kit: include essential items like key documents, a first aid kit or water.
• Rehearse your emergency management plan: do this regularly to help identify items that may not have been originally considered.
• Plan for managing short-term financial obligations: think about what can be done now to prepare for risks that could affect cash flow.

In the spirit of taking care of your business, mindful of what might be thrown at you as a small and family business owner and leader, if I can ask one more thing year: take time to take care of yourself. Plan a break. Step back and recharge. Reflect and re-energise.

Use the end-of-year period to set the tone and plan for 2026. What are your business goals? What steps can you take to move from surviving to thriving? Where do you want your business to be in three, five or ten years? What tools and skills will you need to get there? Who can help you on that journey?

In recent weeks, I've shared how Australia's small and family businesses are backing themselves and drawing on their relentless optimism, self-belief and entrepreneurial instincts, to envision a more positive year ahead. As we end the year, let's also celebrate the entrepreneurial women and men behind our small and family businesses. Their grit and determination, their resolve to keep showing up, their commitment to growth and success, and the courage to back themselves and build family legacies despite relentless challenges and rising costs - all deserve applause and recognition.

We see, hear and honour your entrepreneurial endeavours. We value you and celebrate you.