Work/life balance voted most important measure of business success

Melbourne, 30 October 2006

Visa-VECCI survey confirms spending time with family more important than profits for Victorian business people

Almost half of Victorian business owners participating in a recent Visa-VECCI survey said that achieving a good balance between family and work was the most important indicator of business success. 
 
Forty one per cent of respondents to the quarterly Visa-VECCI Survey of Business Trends and Prospects said that work/life balance was the most important measure of their business success. Spending time away from work with family rated above a feeling of achievement (voted by 28 per cent) and profits (voted by 23 per cent) as the most important measure of success.
 
Yet almost half (44 per cent) of Victorian business owners participating in the survey said they spend more than 20 or more hours per week on routine business financial administration.  Only 10 per cent of survey respondents said they spend less than five hours per week on business financial administration.
 
“Clearly Victorian business people value the time they spend with their family away from work over and above purely financial incentives.  Obviously any means of increasing their efficiency and reducing the amount of time spent on administration is of paramount importance to them,” said Bruce Mansfield, Visa’s Executive Vice President, Australia and New Zealand.
 
Mr. Mansfield said business owners are turning to electronic payments to reduce their workload.
 
Twenty three per cent of respondents said they use internet banking as the main way they pay their business expenses with six per cent using their credit card to pay business expenses.
 
Three out of every five (60 per cent) respondents that use credit cards for business transactions use a business card. 
 
“This indicates that more small business people are utilizing the benefits of their business cards to help manage their financial transactions and records.  More business people are also increasingly using the internet to reduce administration and boost their efficiency by purchasing goods and services online,” said Mr. Mansfield.
 
Visa cards continue to be the most popular payment method with 38 per cent of respondents who use a card to pay for business transactions using Visa. 
 
The Visa-VECCI Survey of Business Trends and Prospects surveyed 500 business people from a diverse spectrum of Victorian industry to identify the key factors influencing business trends and prospects.
 
 
Click here to download the full report | PDF 247kb

 
Media contact
Pauline Hayes
Visa International
ausinfo@visa.com 
 

About Visa Australia

Visa is the leading payment brand in Australia with more than 12 million Visa-branded cards in the country and more than 500,000 acceptance locations.  For the 12 months ended June 2006, A$140 billion was spent at point of sale or withdrawn from ATMs in Australia using Visa cards.  For more information visit www.visa.com.au or email ausinfo@visa.com.