According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, more than 90 percent of Australians use the internet to search for products and services, however only 60 percent of SMEs have a web presence.
There is information available to small business owners who want to get online, with digitalbusiness.gov.au a good place to start, while health and fitness expert Michelle Bridges is someone who exemplifies someone who has built a hugely successful web business despite having limited IT experience.
"I've got great people," Bridges told the EOFY forum when asked how she was able to do so.
"Back in the day when I knew that I wanted to broaden my horizons and train the entire country... I knew there was a way that we could make it happen, I was already doing it moderately online but I knew there was a gem of an idea where I could take personal training to the masses.
"I had a friend of mine who I'm in business with who is in IT... and we figured it out from there - we have spent a substantial amount of money on building our presence in that area... but the money we have spent now really enables us to stand our ground."
Rural NBN obstacles
Despite costing $49 billion, for many, the rollout of the NBN has been far from ideal, seriously affecting their business.
For some in rural areas of the country, it has been a major hindrance with Whispering Pines Organics Farm owner Bettina Walker venting her frustrations to the NBN Chief Customer Officer John Simon.
Her complaints stemmed from the notion that despite being previously assured that her Barellan farm would have access to NBN broadband, with the network even going as far as to install broadband equipment on her farm, they then stated that the farm was outside the radius for the fixed wireless tower and instead provided her with a lower standard NBN Sky Muster satellite service.
Bettina Walker confronts John Simon. Source: SBS
Walker was then provided with the lower standard NBN Sky Muster satellite service.
"NBN came out to our farm and installed brand new broadband equipment on our farm and then told us it was never installed there, " Walker said at the forum.
"Now we have the pathetic service called NBN satellite in which two weeks out of every month I have third world internet standards where I cannot connect to the internet at all."
Simon assured Walker that for those who are unable to access fixed wireless networks, NBN Australia will be increasing data allowances to double.
Minister Michael McCormack, who is the federal member for Bettina's area reaffirmed that additional engineering is being performed on the satellite to increase data capacity in many rural areas with retail service providers expected to offer enhanced plans for the same prices that are currently being offered.
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