A hard-working coffee shop owner has said Australia is one of the worst places in the world to start a business.
Adam Thomson, 50, and his wife, Rejoice, run the Dovetail Social Café in the affluent Brisbane suburb of Highgate Hill.
The couple, who opened the business more than 10 years ago, work 60-hour weeks and have taken a pay cut to keep their doors open.
Mr Thomson told the Daily Mail Australia The country is “up there” as the worst place in the world to start a business “due to the enormous cost.”
“I have a lot of relatives living in Dubai, and it’s the polar opposite of here,” he said.
“Salaries are lower there and there are no taxes like here.”
Mr Thomson admitted the couple had been invited several times to set up their own business in the wealthy Gulf city.
Dubai has one of the lowest corporate tax rates in the world after the United Arab Emirates introduced a standard tax rate of 9 percent in June 2023.
Cafe owner Adam Thomson, 50 (pictured right), said Australia is “up there” as the worst place in the world to start a business “because of the sheer cost” (pictured left, Thomson’s wife Rejoice).
By comparison, the basic tax rate for companies in Australia with an annual turnover of $50 million is 25 percent.
Australians spend on average between $3,000 and $5,000 to start their own small business, according to figures compiled by Brisbane-based accounting firm Muro Accountants.
But, tellingly, around 60 per cent of small businesses cease trading within the first three years, according to figures published by the ABS.
Mr Thomson, who spent a year living in France as a single man, said he would move abroad in a heartbeat if things were different.
She said it is difficult for her family to pack up and move abroad because her daughter has just started high school.
Mr Thomson said now is the worst time to start a business in Australia because of our high cost of living.
Inflation hit a massive 7.8 per cent in December 2022 and since then the RBA has presided over 13 interest rate hikes that have put small businesses on the brink of collapse.
“I speak to a lot of cafe owners and they all say the same thing: they are all trying to get through this difficult period,” Thomson said.
He urged the government to step in and help small businesses or risk losing quality cafes and restaurants in the city centre and suburban areas.
Mr Thomson urged the government to step in and help small businesses or risk losing quality cafes and restaurants (pictured, Dovetail Social Cafe in Norman Park, Brisbane)
But Mr Thomson also issued a warning to Australians considering starting their own business: don’t underestimate the amount of work involved.
“Running a company is physically demanding because unexpected things always happen,” he said.
“If things aren’t perfect, you’ll get bad reviews on Google because people can’t hold back.”
She also said that many young business owners don’t take the time to explain to their staff how they want their company and brand to be represented.
He said it is important to create the right workplace culture so that employees present themselves appropriately.
Mr Thomson said that while running the cafe is costly, he loves living and working in Australia and is grateful for his loyal customers.
Mr Thomson also issued a stern warning to Australians considering starting their own business: do not underestimate the amount of work involved (pictured are shoppers at Sydney’s Pitt Street mall).
CreditorWatch, a leading Australian business analyst firm, has predicted that one in 13 hotel businesses will fail in the next year.
CreditorWatch chief executive Patrick Coghlan warned that conditions will get worse for hospitality companies before they get better.
“The outlook for the hotel sector is unlikely to improve until we see an increase in consumer spending,” Coghlan said in a statement.
“That won’t happen until the effects of one or two rate cuts filter down to households. We don’t expect that to be felt until at least the second half of next year.”
