<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Heartbroken business owners have explained why they believe so many small Australian companies went bust this year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/cost-of-living-crisis-aussie-business-failures-spike-mid-pandemic-rate/f80ff7d5-00f3-4003-b4cb-620e5e1ac8b8" rel="" target="_blank" title="Business collapses climbed in 2024"><span>Business collapses climbed in 2024</span></a><span> and the hospitality, construction and retail industries were among the worst hit as inflation drove costs up.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Plenty of small and large business owners made the gut-wrenching decision to shut doors or were forced to liquidate as they drowned in bills, including Sydney woman Belinda Jane Keehn.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/finance/interest-rates-forecast-what-impacts-cash-rate-decisions-inflation-unemployment-reserve-bank-explained/4465497d-e746-461c-a212-56810ee18924"><strong><span>What the RBA is really looking at when it sets interest rates</span></strong></a><strong></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She told 9news.com.au she folded her clothing business, BJ's PJs, this year after struggling to cope with the aftermath of COVID-19.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"When I launched my business just six years ago, the world was very different," Keehn said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Unfortunately, this year, after years of navigating the challenges of small business ownership, including the aftermath of COVID-19 and skyrocketing living costs, I made the difficult decision to close my doors. </span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/business-collapse-numbers-australia-explained-interview-exclusive/950ca384-a678-4537-94b2-b18ec0f359d2" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The rising production costs, financial stress, and declining consumer spending have made it unsustainable to continue."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Keehn said the cost of production meant she was barely making any profit from her brand.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She also blames the big brand competition which made it virtually impossible to match prices.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/australia-social-media-ban-under-16s-countries-that-have-tried-and-failed-explainer/94f281b5-c994-4a08-928c-02fcba6190df" target="_blank"><strong><span>Other countries have tried to ban children from using social media. So does it ever work?</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I am far from alone in these challenging times," she added.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Many small businesses are either closing or are on the brink of doing so, and it's heartbreaking to witness."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Keehn said the cost of fabric, manufacturing and postage resulted in her business effectively being made "non-profitable".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Winding down has been an emotional and difficult challenge," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I Have built up my clientele in my other small business, Keehn As Gardening and Light Home Maintenance, which took a back seat to BJ's PJs over the last few years but will focus more on that to supplement the loss of income."</span></div></div><div class="styles__Wrapper-sc-2o34ro-0 cmwkBV"><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><a href="/content/2024/12/03/15/04/the-best-and-worst-states-and-territories-to-do-business-in"><img alt="Worst States to do business in" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 636px, (min-width: 768px) 396px, 100vw" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/Jp53_B9LgNsklXKBq_9dRLQuU20=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Ff7161aab-febf-48be-bc21-dec86c8e786b" srcset="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/Jp53_B9LgNsklXKBq_9dRLQuU20=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Ff7161aab-febf-48be-bc21-dec86c8e786b 396w, https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/rcg7-s5CrVyXuUiiDO8FjcziOqc=/636x358/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Ff7161aab-febf-48be-bc21-dec86c8e786b 636w"/></a></div><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><div class="styles__Headline-sc-2o34ro-4 hpbOlz">The best and worst states and territories to try and run a business in</div><div class="styles__Button-sc-2o34ro-1 eBjlmW"><a class="styles__ButtonLink-sc-2o34ro-2 hqpklJ" href="/content/2024/12/03/15/04/the-best-and-worst-states-and-territories-to-do-business-in">View Gallery</a></div></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Sydney man Mick Owar ran his own construction business for five years.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He told 9news.om.au business boomed after he started it in 2018, but things went south post-COVID.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The cost of materials just exploded and there was a point after COVID where the labour force just woke up and didn't want to work anymore," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Finding people that just had an ounce of reliability became almost impossible."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Owar described the taxes forced on businesses in Australia as a "joke".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This contributed to Owar shutting down the construction side of his company after realising he was barely able to cut himself a salary.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>According to UNSW research, rising material costs, tax debts and high interest rates have contributed to the surge of businesses going bust this year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Low consumer spending has also been a major factor.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The more discretionary categories of spending tend to get cut back on, and for businesses in that sector, a large and sudden drop in demand can make it economically impossible to continue," Professor Richard Holden from the UNSW School of Economics said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In October, a report from CreditorWatch found businesses in Australia were collapsing at a rate not seen since the pandemic.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It blamed the rapid rate of business owners shutting doors on the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/cost-of-living"><span>cost of living</span></a><span> crisis and mounting tax debts.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>CreditorWatch noted all sectors have seen a major spike in failures since the ATO ramped up collections in October 2023.</span></div></div>