Trent Young, co-founder of Young Guns Container Crew says he was motivated by the autonomy of running his own business. Credit:Jorge de Araujo In the next five years it aims to raise employee numbers to 700 and is exploring other markets including New Zealand. Three business strategies Academics Dr Michelle Evans, associate professor, Charles Sturt University and Dr Ian Williamson, Melbourne Business School (MBS) professor, are delving into such experiences in a three-year longitudinal study into Australian Indigenous entrepreneurial leadership. They want to discover how cultural authorisation and identity shapes the products and services Indigenous entrepreneurs choose to provide, and the impact this has on performance. They then want to gauge whether performance can be improved by increasing the entrepreneur's business acumen via education.

At an Indigenous Business Month event last week Evans outlined findings from the first year of her qualitative research. Drawing on almost 50 interviews with Indigenous business leaders who have undertaken the MBS MURRA Indigenous Business Master Class program, she found they have adopted one of three business strategies. Dr Michelle Evans, associate professor at Charles Sturt University, is researching Indigenous entrepreneurial leadership. Credit:Jorge de Araujo There are cultural businesses such as Indigenous arts, bush food, tourism operations, and those with a bi-cultural focus such as the Brisbane-based cultural competency and awareness training and education business BlackCard. Then there are those, like Young Guns, competing in the open market, where it may not be noticeable that an Indigenous entrepreneur is at the helm. "What we've been interested in is how their background, their skills, their education has an impact on their business and their business choices and we've also been looking at social networks … who they are connected to and how they use that," she said. Over the three years they want to track how the firms grow and whether their strategies and revenue outcomes change after completing the MURRA program.

First generation entrepreneurs The quantitative research draws on data from 120 Indigenous business leaders of which only 35 per cent had undertaken the MURRA program. It showed on average they were generating annual revenue of $2.7 million; had been operating for about 10 years; employed 23 people; and about 60 per cent of their employees were Indigenous. Most had for-profit experience and most were first-generation entrepreneurs, with the majority reporting that neither of their parents had been entrepreneurs. It's not the usual sort of discussion, it's about future generations, it's about growing a family business, it's about economic independence. Dr Michelle Evans Personal challenge and commitment to community were the two main motivations for going into business. Like Young they are ambitious, with data showing on average they want to double their employees to 51 in the next five years and increase their revenue tenfold to $23.3 million.

But the researchers are discovering that Indigenous entrepreneurs often experience tension between their motivations for being in business and the profit-making drive. As a business-person they are focussed on making a success of the business, said Evans. "But there's also this very strong purpose drive… and it's not the usual sort of discussion, it's about future generations, it's about growing a family business, it's about economic independence," she said. The missed opportunity While their aspirations may be big, the first year's findings research show businesses that were less focused on cultural products tended to have higher revenue. That may be explained by their broader market appeal, but it was also influenced by business acumen, said Williamson. "The findings are pretty clear: there's no substitute for skill … having higher levels of skill and understanding and business acumen has the potential to pay big dividends."

The research highlighted a missed opportunity for many of the Indigenous businesses: global markets. Only 31 per cent were engaged in international trade and most weren't even thinking about it. "I think this is an under-explored and under-utilised vehicle," said Williamson, adding MBS is looking at how it can help create that pathway for indigenous businesses. He also suspects few Indigenous entrepreneurs are engaging in business-to-business activity with each other or coming together in joint ventures to pursue larger contracts, an area they will investigate in the next survey.