Sponsored by CommBank
Franki Hobson
When the cost of refrigerated freight from Orange to Sydney became increasingly difficult to justify, cheesemaker SJ Pienaar found another way to get Second Mouse Cheese to metropolitan customers, pivoting her business model from wholesale transport to direct customer sales.
It’s a challenge familiar to regional operators. The latest COSBOA Small Business Perspectives Report, supported by CommBank, found that of the 572 regional small businesses surveyed, 87 per cent said expenses increased over the year*.
By taking her cheese straight to markets like Sydney’s Carriageworks Farmers Market, Pienaar is not only bypassing expensive truck deliveries, she’s also opening up her brand to a whole new audience as she and her team cut open wheels, offer samples and build personal connections with customers.
Follow the consumer
The survey also revealed changing consumer spending as another concern for small businesses.
“A few years ago, the demand was mostly for standard blank tees,” says Raimundo Sutton, director of Sydney screen printer ASYD, a business he started with Joel Herbert in 2018. “Now, customers want the complete package: embroidery, labels and sometimes complete cut-and-sew services. They want their products to look like an established brand from the very first run.”
Instead of competing on price, Sutton says ASYD broadened its offering and put greater emphasis on quality and service.
“Competing on the lowest price becomes a race to the bottom,” he observes. “We deliver a premium print experience. Both my business partner and I started out with our own fashion brand, Acid Reign. And because we have firsthand experience, we understand exactly what our customers are trying to achieve. We can offer specialised advice that sets us apart from regular screen printers.”
For Second Mouse, Pienaar has found another upside to her new approach. Customers want to taste the cheese, Pienaar explains, but they also want to know who made it, how it was made and the story behind it. That connection matters when you’re selling a premium artisan product.
“I think this economy has actually diversified our customer profile,” she says, pointing to the appeal of “little treat spending” among younger customers seeking an affordable indulgence.
Get out of the way
But adapting to shifts in customer behaviour is only one side of the equation. For small businesses, changing sales patterns, rising costs and the timing of money coming in and going out can make it harder to see what’s ahead. That makes cash-flow planning especially important as business owners need to understand where the business stands today and have a clearer view of what the next few months could look like.
Rebecca Warren, executive general manager CommBank Small Business Banking, says having that forward-looking view can be valuable when owners are already juggling the many demands of running a business.
“Small business owners are constantly adapting, whether that’s responding to changing customer behaviour, managing higher costs or finding new ways to operate more efficiently. Having a clearer picture of cash flow can help them make those decisions with greater confidence,” Warren says.
Next-generation AI tools are taking the guesswork out of small business finances by giving owners a live, predictive view of their cash flow. Instead of staring at static spreadsheets, business owners can leverage machine learning to project future runway, optimise payment timing and plan for upcoming expenses with greater certainty. As Warren notes, that is precisely the idea behind tools like CommBank Companion, currently in testing.
Indeed, sometimes the biggest business efficiency is the ability to remove the owner from every decision.
“When we first started, every quote and file required my personal attention,” Sutton says. “Now, when customers enquire about an order, our team can handle the quote and request directly.”
Pienaar has learnt the same lesson. After years of being central to every part of Second Mouse, she’s handing more cheesemaking and marketing responsibilities to others so she isn’t “mission critical” all the time. She still makes time for the part she values most: connecting directly with customers.
But knowing the numbers has become non-negotiable. She now assesses the profit and loss of individual products and markets before deciding where her limited time is best spent.
“Passion matters, but so does profit,” she says. “I don’t run on vibes alone.”
Turn financial data into actionable decisions. Visit CommBank Companion, now in testing in the CommBank app, helping eligible businesses understand their cash flow. Or explore the CommBank Small Business Hub.
*2026 COSBOA Small Business Perspectives Report.
