The Small Business Development Corporation’s new chairman, Ray Mountney, has identified three areas for the government-run industry body to focus on over his year long term including finance, staffing and corporate real estate.
Mr Mountney was promoted to chair in late June for a one year term and has been a board member since 2009.
He said the SBDC is the conduit between small business and the government, and while there is a raft of issues for small businesses, the corporation would focus on the current top three problems.
“First and foremost, the global financial crisis has thrown the cat amongst the pigeons in a lot of areas, for example in funding. The world of funding and small business has been turned upside down,” he said.
“Staffing is an enormous issue. We are expecting an even greater mining boom than we have in the past over the next few years. That has historically done some great things for a lot of small businesses, and damaged a lot of others.
“We also have a major issue with commercial real estate, and the availability of it in the right location.”
Mr Mountney began his corporate career as a trainee at City Motors 39 years ago and progressed to chief executive and partner in the business alongside two members of the Automotive Holdings Group during his 25 years with the company.
He has been owner and managing director of Fennessy Holden and Nissan in Busselton since he moved to the South West 13 years ago.
He believes having a regional chair for SBDC will help to raise the profile of remote and regional small businesses and helps to have their issues heard by government.
“It has been very encouraging and rewarding; a number of people have rung me and said that it is fantastic that our first SBDC chairman from rural WA is in place because it brings about a sense of it is not all being driven and decided out of Perth,” Mr Mountney said.
“There is a good feeling that a rural chairman is in there … thinking like a lot of rural businesses do.
“The mining industry boom and a lot of the associated industries do not take place in St Georges Terrace – it is taking place in the Pilbara and a lot of other places.”
SBDC also has two new board members: Black Toms and Mosmans owner Brent Pollard and Geraldton-based Dalgleish Catering owner Merril Dalgleish.
The industry body continues to search for a new chief executive.
