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Small Business

The entrepreneurial generation: Why Gen Z-ers want to work for themselves

Bianca Purdie moved straight into nine-to-five work after school but soon burnt out. Now the owner of her own business, like four in five Gen Z-ers, she says she would rather work for herself.
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Young woman dressed in black holding a large camera, sitting on a bed and smiling.

We asked MCoBeauty to explain how they dupe cosmetics. They gave us a step-by-step guide

Australian cosmetics giant MCoBeauty has attracted global attention for its strikingly similar beauty dupes, but the company has kept the details of its product development process out of the spotlight — until now.
A number of beauty products placed on a vibrant pink display stand.

'Is this really ethical?' Iris sees her product being copied weekly, but she can't afford to do anything about it

Small beauty entrepreneurs say they are struggling to stop copies of their cosmetics being released because they don't have the legal budgets to fight big companies that are self-confessed dupers.
Iris Smit, Inventor of The Quick Flick

You don't think pole dancing's for you? That's what Stacey thought too and now she's 'obsessed'

Pole dancing has a raunchy reputation, but fitness instructor Stacey Windsor says its physical and mental health benefits can transform lives — and she's starting with her small home town. 
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A woman holding on to a dancing pole inside a studio.

Businesses doing good are doing well. A certification scheme aims to keep it that way

Social enterprises are for-profit businesses that tackle a social problem at the same time as doing their work. They're booming in growth and a new scheme aims to add rigour — so the good work keeps getting done.
People looking at an undercover market stall selling clothing, gifts and homewares.

Craft beer is going through a 'hell of a moment', but will brewers be able to hold on?

The craft beer scene's biggest festival of the year became an inadvertent staging point for the many intersecting issues facing the industry. Brewers tried to put on a brave face but admitted "vibes were down."
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A half empty beer glass sits on a wooden table top beneath lights

Rising operational costs and customers spending less leaving Canberra businesses in a precarious position

The rising cost of living is taking a toll on Canberra small businesses, as increasing operational costs combined with customers spending less leaves many in a precarious position.
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A man with a thick beard steams milk in a metal jug at an espresso machine.

What would a beer from 1859 taste like? These men re-created one

Meet the brewers who journeyed into old town archives and ship manifests, and spent hours at the local museum, to re-create what would have been served to patrons in this South Australian pub in the 1800s.
A pub owner stands outside the entrance to his hotel.

The chemical-free veggie garden that sprang to life on an arid salt pan

A community-supported agriculture enterprise is supplying chemical-free produce grown on Whyalla's arid salt pans and offering alternatives to the big supermarkets.
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Father and daughter with her guinea pig in front of sunflowers.

Egg farmers near avian influenza outbreak scramble into action after week-long lockdown lifted

While supermarket shelves were stripped bare of egg cartons, the storage room at Wes Humpage's farm was reaching capacity. Until today.   
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Chickens bathed in red light at night in a shed

They left the city to run a 170-year-old country pub. Then a car drove through the front bar

A Melbourne couple had just moved to the small border town of Apsley to take over the town's pub when a car crashed through their bar. After extensive repairs, the inn reopened for the long weekend.
A woman and a man stand behind beer taps in a bar

'Feels a bit like an invasion of privacy': Australians react to Meta's use of posts to train AI

If you're among the majority of Australians with Facebook or Instagram accounts, your social activity on those platforms might be training Meta's artificial intelligence (AI) tools — and if you live in Australia, you can't say no.
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FACEBOOK GENERIC PHOTO

Rental crisis sees regional businesses providing homes and hotels for workers

Businesses in regional Western Australia are calling for increased housing availability as employers and community groups look to build accommodation to attract staff. 
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A woman in a blue shirt and dress pants stands in front of a mechanics workshop

analysis:It may not push up interest rates, but Fair Work's award wage rise still leaves workers worse off

The Fair Work Commission has been careful not to trigger another interest rate rise with its latest minimum and award wage increase, but a pay rise barely keeping up with inflation does little to ease the pressure on household budgets either.
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Woman looks at laptop screen, for a story about energy bill shock.

Hairdresser Jackie cuts just about everyone's hair in town. She wouldn't have it any other way

Before the small regional community of Wedderburn set up this salon, locals travelled between 40 minutes and an hour to get their hair cut. Now it has become so much more than a place for a little bit of pampering.
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A dark haired woman wearing a floral apron standing behind a woman with pink hair seated in a beauty salon.

If you've noticed almost every retail store is having a sale right now, it's because they are. Here's why

Whether you shop in-store or online, retailers are ramping up sales to entice us to part with our cash. But, as spending flatlines, discounting doesn't appear to have the same effect it used to, sparking warnings of looming retail collapses.
Eight items of clothing are hung on black clothes hangers, including three singlets, three pairs of pants, and a white shirt.

This rural community has saved the primary school and pub. Now it's time to save the general store

Determined to save Guildford's "spiritual home", a local campaign to buy the store for $1 million and reopen it as a community cooperative is underway.
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A group of people sit outsdie the general store talking and drinking coffee

New Sydney store accused of copying its neighbour 500 metres up the road

Accusations of copycatting have been levelled by two small businesses operating close to each other in the same street in Sydney's Newtown.
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two photos of two stores with green branding, set next to each other

Knitting club's late arrival for meeting 'may well have saved lives' after car plunges into haberdashery

In a case of timing being everything, a group of women were running five minutes late for their weekly knitting catch-up at The Moderne Haberdashery and Fashion shop at Swansea when a high performance car ploughed into it, sending stock flying.
A car crashed into a shop with wool and craft supplies scattered around it.

'It's too late for me': Millions of Australians in limbo as $20,000 tax break bill stalls

Cafe owner Rachel Power says her hope of benefiting from a 2023 budget promise aimed at helping small businesses has been dashed, as the bill remains stuck in parliament.
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A young woman wearing spectacles looks at the camera while standing outside with ferns behind her.

'Don't go into it blind': Small business owners like George are in turmoil after taking on loans they can't afford

More small business owners are falling prey to online "predatory" lenders offering them quick cash. Some business owners are in such extreme financial strife that they have been forced to sell their family home.
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a man sits in an office with truck pieces on the floor

Queensland businesses are less innovative than their American counterparts, commission report finds

Queensland's small business sector is characterised by low levels of innovation, risk-taking, and tech-savviness, the state's Small Business Commission finds. 
A woman next to some leaves

After 90 years this family-owned shop has closed its doors. The owner says online shopping has taken its toll

Simpson Shoes was established more than 90 years ago. But after three generations, Craig Simpson has closed its doors. He sees no future in independent retail, saying online shopping has taken over.  
Craig Simpson holding a picture of his Pop, mother and father in front of a wall of shoes on display

With heart, soul, books and bread, the Sufi community calls this outback city home

Over the past decade in Broken Hill, the city's Sufi community has become more prominent, with the establishment of the locally revered Sufi Bakery, as well as an Islamic study centre and a Sufi bookshop. 
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ABC News Feature

Boutique brewer launches beer made with camel dung

Breweries are increasingly turning to unusual and sustainable products and production methods to stand out in a competitive market.
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Man with short hair and wearing dark glasses smells smoked grains