MAKING FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES STRONG THOUGH SMALL BUSINESS

Making Families and Communities Strong Through Small Business Mara West, Honours Thesis, Murdoch University, 20077. CONCLUSIONIn conclusion, it seems that there has been little change from what was statedin submissions to the Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander Affairs in 1998 to the submission of the Indigenous Business Reviewin 2003 to what was being expressed by Bulldog and Bunjima in 2006, that is:business facilitators lack business expertise,no monitoring or follow-up support to businessesgovernment processes take an inordinate amount of time to approvefunding which disadvantages Aboriginal people,the need to streamline government programs into a ‘one stop shop’ toeffect a more efficient process,links to the private sector must be strengthened, andtraining in business skills and knowledge.The three key questions in the introduction to this research have beenaddressed quite well by both Bulldog and Bunjima. The key business successfactors were highlighted in the analysis of the case studies. If governmentdepartments implemented all of these points it would certainly go a long wayto improving their dealings with Indigenous businesses and it could beassumed that there would be a lot more successful businesses.Linkages between social and commercial motivation is recognised by bothcase studies and there is the recognition by Bunjima as a family business thatsocial and business areas must be separated.The support provided by service agencies has been very little or none. Thefact that both businesses are viable highlights the expertise, commitment andfortitude of the proprietors. They should be recognised for their best practiceelements and promoted as good models through the Indigenous affairsbusiness arena.Elements for best practice in Aboriginal business involves:Good bookkeeping skills to enable people to always check entriesand know and understand the information.Appropriate training to be provided so people have the skills toquestion everything.People must have experience and good grounding in business.Departments/funding bodies must have competent staff who haveexperience in business and who can provide the right advice.Business operators’ profiles must be readily available ingovernment departments so that operators in remote locations canbe given assistance immediately.41