United States
United Kingdom
Canada
New Zealand
IrelandCampbell warns business pressures follow Australian owners home
The financial planner links squeezed margins to household strain, then outlines practical steps for owners trying to keep their businesses afloat.
AustraliaStory of Why this story? One of 9 News Australia's most watched videos since yesterday, with 31,181 views.
9 News Australia: The news service of Australia's Nine Network, owned by Nine Entertainment. 1.9M subscribers and 1.7B views.
Australian small businesses fight for survival | 9 News Australia
Things we can learn from the video
Press to jump
- 0:22Campbell says interest rates, living costs and changing spending patterns are combining to squeeze businesses.
- 0:54Small operators have fewer reserves, thinner margins and less negotiating power to withstand rising costs.
- 1:27Business pressures spill into households, with financial strain following owners home and families taking extra work.
- 2:08Her advice includes auditing cash flow, building emergency savings, reducing unnecessary debt and renegotiating expenses.
- 2:48Campbell urges adaptation and innovation alongside government policies that give businesses room to thrive.
Keeping a business afloat can mean taking on more work while bringing financial worries home, financial planner Canna Campbell tells the Today hosts in a segment carried by Australian broadcaster 9 News Australia.
"Financial stress follows you around. It follows you to work and it follows you home again," she says, explaining how pressure on businesses spills into family life, with some people having to take extra jobs.
The interview opens with difficulties facing established companies, including department store chain David Jones, before turning to smaller operators. Campbell describes a combination of rising interest rates, higher living costs, disrupted profit margins and changing consumer spending, rather than a single cause.
"It's the cumulative pressure of all of these that's breaking businesses," she says.
Small businesses have particular disadvantages, Campbell explains: smaller cash reserves, thinner margins and less bargaining power with suppliers. Higher costs are harder to absorb, but passing them on is also difficult when customers are cutting back. She says small businesses account for almost all Australian enterprises.
Her advice begins with reviewing budgets and cash flow: understanding what comes in, what goes out and which expenses can be changed. She recommends building emergency savings, reducing unnecessary debt and reviewing existing contracts to see whether costs can be renegotiated. Diversifying income, skills and opportunities also features in the discussion.
Campbell places those individual steps alongside a wider policy argument. Businesses need conditions that allow them to grow, she says, urging Australians to demand government policies that support that goal. The interview closes on the discouraging environment facing people considering starting a business.
An Australian department store chain founded in 1838. It is the world's oldest continuously operating department store still using its original name.
More on Wikipedia ›Published on Trari
Where next?
- Channel
- 9 News Australia
- Subscribers
- 1,900,000
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 18,434,893
- Channel views, pace per day
- 2,042,580 (on a normal day: 2,105,255)
- Video published
- November 7, 2026
- Video views so far
- 40,386 (2 days online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 31,187
The numbers
The interview drew around 31,000 views since yesterday, placing it among Australia's most watched new news videos.
💡 Test your knowledge
What is Canna Campbell's professional role in this interview?
Campbell is identified on screen as a financial planner and offers guidance on business finances.