Source : THE AGE NEWS
When Ebony Haysom and Jeremiah Jimena launched Core Essential Supplies (CES) at the end of 2024, they started with one product: thermal labels. Eighteen months on, their two-person business is expanding into new categories. But time remains in short supply.
The pair are building CES alongside full-time careers and raising a one-year-old, so Haysom is ruthless about what needs their attention and what can be automated.
Recently, they connected four previously separate systems spanning online sales, accounting and customer management. Automation now updates them simultaneously, rather than Haysom and Jimena manually entering the same information four times.
“Time is our most limited resource,” Haysom says. “As a small business, we don’t have unlimited people or resources, so the systems and processes have to work for us.”
The upside is time back: more time for customers, finding market gaps, sourcing products and exploring new sales channels.
Indeed, CommBank research found 73 per cent of Australian SMEs have innovated in the past three years, most commonly across products and services, customer experience and digital technology*.
Build it, and business will come
Haysom and Jimena aren’t waiting for CES to get bigger to work out how a bigger business should operate. They’re putting processes in place now that can grow with it. Thermal labels were a simple way in, but customers wanted more of their regular consumables in one place. CES expanded the range, then focused on value and repeat purchasing rather than just adding products.
Subscriptions followed for predictable repeat orders such as labels. CES has also expanded beyond logistics supplies, with sports tape and related consumables.
“If something isn’t gaining the traction we expected, we’re not afraid to revisit it, understand why and pivot,” Haysom says.
Learn the business
Melbourne textile designer Tara Whalley came at the same challenge from another direction.
After completing a textile design degree and spending a year volunteering with war-affected weavers in Guatemala, Whalley returned to Australia determined to fulfil a long-held ambition: launching her own fashion label.
First, she went back to study.
“I wanted to go into business setting up everything correctly from the start,” she says.
Whalley already knew how to design. What she wanted to learn was accounting, planning, tax and the formal side of running a business.
She established disciplined habits early. “I keep my business and personal accounts and cards separate,” Whalley says. She uses her expenses mapped on a timeline to set clear sales targets month on month. “Knowing my cash flow is under control lets me focus on the many facets of my business and exploring opportunities for growth.”
A decade on, those commercial skills are still earning their keep. Whalley looks back over recent months to see what’s been most profitable, but doesn’t let the numbers make every decision.
“I’m also an artist, so I also look at what we’ve done to make the most whimsical experiences for people. Or what’s created the most soulful work.”
For Whalley, that operational structure actually fuels her craft. “Having a clear plan with small achievable steps gives me a lot of confidence in running my business and gives me the headspace to let my artistic side free to be creative,” she says.
She is also quick to lean on external guidance where needed. “Some things I’m better at than others, and that’s why I meet with a business mentor on a regular basis.”
Made-to-order production helps match supply with demand rather than leaving excess stock to be discounted. At her Fitzroy store, Shop Gal, her own label sits alongside other independent designers, broadening the range without requiring Whalley to design for every customer.
She also runs textile design and painting workshops, freelances, does brand collaborations and produces runway shows.
Make information work harder
Innovation costs time and money. CommBank research found 82 per cent of SMEs face at least one barrier, led by development and implementation costs, time and funding.
Haysom and Jimena have already seen the value of bringing information together rather than chasing it across different systems. For time-poor owners, getting a clearer picture of the finances can present a similar challenge.
CommBank Companion, currently being tested with a pilot group of eligible business customers, lets users ask questions about their available business financial data, including cash flow, spending and payments, within the CommBank app to help spot trends and inform decisions.
According to CommBank executive general manager Small Business Banking Rebecca Warren, it’s about empowering small businesses to embrace AI in practical ways, to help make more informed decisions and plan ahead with greater confidence.
“Small business owners make decisions every day with limited time and resources, so having clearer, more timely information can make a real difference,” Warren said.
Start, then learn
Running CES has forced Haysom and Jimena to learn about sourcing, supplier negotiations, pricing and margins, inventory, e-commerce and marketing.
At this stage, they can’t hire a specialist for every job. Haysom says the trick is knowing enough to make informed decisions, while recognising when outside expertise is worth paying for.
Whalley has learnt plenty by doing. Some of her biggest moves came before she felt entirely ready. Shows at New York and Paris fashion weeks meant backing her largest collections and production orders, which she says drew strong responses from customers and stockists.
Her advice for someone with a great idea and limited resources is simple: start small and listen.
“When you start you learn so much through customer feedback,” she says.
And don’t wait for the perfect logo, website or launch.
“The best thing you have on your side is time,” Whalley says. “The next five years you can be producing and creating your brand, or you can wait five years to start, wait for it to be perfect and miss out on all the learnings and growth you could have had in the meantime.”
Ready to build a stronger business for the future? Explore CommBank Companion, now in testing, and discover more tools and support to help strengthen your business at the CommBank Small Business Hub. Terms and conditions apply.
*CommBank SMB Sentiment Survey October 2025.
