Freelance creatives – such as designers, photographers and marketing consultants – show concern for the future, despite the government’s multi-million dollar investment into the creative sector last year, as many businesses continue to tighten the purse strings and take creative work in-house.
The latest Hnry Sole Trader Pulse – the only nationwide survey of self-employed people in Australia – shows:
42% of self-employed creatives have seen revenue fall in Q1, compared to average 38%
Less than half (46%) feel positive about their financial security
Plus, only 27% of freelance creatives feel good about the health of the economy
The data follows a boom in the space – with Hnry sign-ups by Creative Gen Z sole traders (aged 26 and under) skyrocketing by 133% over the last 12 months, as young creatives pursue their passions and learn to manage freedom, independence and work-life balance.
Passionate about videography, photography, editing, visual effects and more, working in permanent employment was too restrictive for Nicholas’ [Bon Fere, pictured] creative personality. Since working for himself as a freelancer, he’s explored each of his disciplines on his own terms – and seen a 850% increase in profits in his first year with Hnry.
Sole trader turnover at its worst in two years
New Hnry data reveals self-employed Aussies’ income growth has stagnated, but optimism reaches a new high as RBA holds cash rate
The start of the year has proved rocky for Australia’s 1.5 million sole traders, with over a third (38%) experiencing a decline in revenue – the only financial quarter to record this in the last two years.
The latest Hnry Sole Trader Pulse – the only nationwide survey of self-employed people in Australia including consultants, freelancers, contract tradies and healthcare workers – reports revenue decline has outweighed growth (37%) for the first time since the pandemic. This bucks a two year trend where sole traders have consistently seen their turnover improve, rather than worsen.
Feeling the increasing pinch of inflation and rising costs, only 56% of sole traders in March 2024 feel secure in their jobs, falling from 61% in October last year.*
Karan Anand, Managing Director of Hnry Australia, said: “With 50,000 new sole traders expected to enter the sector this year, this group is an essential subsection of our workforce that signals the broader health of the economy. Our data shows us they’re doing it tough and feeling the lasting impact of inflation and back-to-back interest rate rises.
“The good news is that as economic pressures promise to ease, overall sole trader optimism, whilst modest, is on the rise – with 35% feeling positive about the health of the economy in six months’ time, a jump from 23% in October 2023, and the highest since March 2022.”
However, not all sole traders are bearing the brunt equally. Understandably those that are new to sole trading are struggling to find their feet in a tough economic climate, with over half (52%) of sole trader businesses under two years old reporting falling revenue, in contrast to 30% of those aged 3-10 years, and 39% aged over 11 years.
This data corresponds with independent earners aged under 34 feeling more impacted by stagnating turnover (49%) when compared with their 35-54 year old (38%) and 55+ year old (34%) counterparts.
Some industries are also faring worse than others – less than half (46%) of freelance creatives including designers, photographers and marketing consultants, feel positive about their financial security. This comes despite the government’s multi-million dollar investment into the creative sector last year, with many businesses continuing to tighten the purse strings and take creative work in-house that would have previously been outsourced.**
By comparison, health and wellness professionals are feeling the most secure (67%), followed by consultants (64%) and contract tradies (63%). Where 42% of self-employed creatives have seen their income fall, only 28% of wellness workers reported the same, as consumers prioritise spending on self-care and wellbeing in 2024.***
Mr Anand continued: “Despite experiencing a challenging start to the year, the majority of sole traders are still continuing to reap the rewards of being their own boss. Positive feelings around work-life balance (65%) and wellbeing (58%) have remained unchanged since last October, while job satisfaction has improved from 62% to 66% – signalling the greater freedom and flexibility of self-employment continues to pay personal dividends.”
The data also reveals that tax and financial admin continues to be a significant drain on productivity, robbing the average sole trader of an hour per day, while a day per week is lost to tracking business expenses alone.
“An empowered workforce is a productive one. Ensuring that sole traders have the tools and resources they need to build thriving businesses is vital not only for the sector’s longevity – but for the nation’s economic success,” Mr Anand concluded.
The Hnry Sole Trader Pulse is Australia’s only regular, comprehensive snapshot of the sentiment of self-employed people in Australia. For more information, visit hnry.com.au/au/soletraderpulse.
About the Hnry Sole Trader Pulse:
*The survey was commissioned by Hnry and undertaken by Resolve Strategic to measure the sentiment, views and experiences of sole traders in Australia. In March 2024, Resolve Strategic conducted an online quantitative survey, interviewing over 500 sole traders with an ABN including contractors, consultants, freelancers, gig economy workers and tradies. The survey is nationally representative.
**’2023-24 Federal Budget to revitalise Arts sector’, 9 May 2023
***’The Future of Australian Retail: 2024 and Beyond’, 31 January 2024
About Hnry:
Hnry is the world’s first digital accountant and tax automation service for sole traders. Redefining what an ‘all-in-one’ accounting service looks like, they’re on a mission to make self-employment simple, affordable and accessible for all. As Australasia’s fastest-growing digital accountancy service, Hnry automatically calculates and pays taxes as you earn, takes care of invoicing, expenses, and tax lodgments, while also providing the support of an accountant – all in a straightforward pay-as-you-go model – so that contractors, freelancers, and the self-employed never have to think about tax again.
Founded in Wellington in 2017 and opening its first Sydney office in 2020, Hnry financially empowers tens of thousands of sole traders and processes billions of dollars worth of payments every year across Australia and New Zealand. Consistently winning awards for its service, Hnry recently won the People’s Choice Award for ‘Fintech Organisation of the Year’ for the second year running at the 2023 FinTech Australia ‘Finnies’ Awards. For more, visit the Hnry website www.hnry.com.au/au.
