Fresh wave of support for small businesses arrives in Melbourne

Sydney, Australia 9 November 2021: Small businesses in Melbourne will soon receive a fresh wave of support as a nationwide campaign to support small businesses bounce back from lockdowns begins in Melbourne today.

After already helping small businesses in Sydney, the #bigforsmall campaign has set its sights on Melbourne as restrictions ease and workers return to commercial districts. 

The #bigforsmall campaign encourages big businesses to empower their employees to shop and spend at small businesses as workers begin to return to commercial districts and Government funded support is tapered off.

The organisation that started the campaign, Breathe HR, will be giving its employees $20 per person per day to spend at small businesses near the company’s offices. All employees of its parent company ELMO Software will also receive the cash to spend supporting small businesses near its offices.

The campaign has continued to gather momentum in Australia with UBS, the Sydney Swans Football Club,  Australian British Chamber of Commerce, Cluch-TV, Nine25, Satori Group and the CBD Sydney Chamber of Commerce joining the campaign to support small businesses.

The arrival of #bigforsmall in Melbourne coincides with the grand opening of ELMO Software’s new office at the Queen and Collins Building. The office space will provide a space for the company’s employees to collaborate and connect in the heart of Melbourne. 

ELMO Software CEO and Co-founder Danny Lessem said getting small businesses back on their feet was key to the success of the Australian economy.

“Small businesses are vital to the Australian economy. They’ve been through an incredibly tough time during these lockdowns and need all of us to do our bit to help them get back to normal. Small businesses are major employers and contributors to economic output. Without them the economy is demonstrably worse off.

“The #bigforsmall campaign has had a great impact in Sydney and is really gaining momentum as we launch in Melbourne. 

“Melbourne and the community have shown extraordinary resilience over the past two years. As #bigforsmall arrives in the city hopefully it gives small businesses owners a bit more confidence to reopen their doors. 

“The driver behind this campaign is to harness the power of bigger businesses’ workforces for good by empowering employees to spend at small businesses. Rather than waiting hopefully for someone to throw small businesses a life line, this campaign is about making use of the collective impact that businesses have to support one another when times are tough.

“As we open the doors on our brand new office space in the heart of Melbourne, I’m thrilled to be able to launch the #bigforsmall campaign so small businesses can open their doors too.

“I encourage big businesses to get on board the campaign however they can so their people can be empowered to go out and support small businesses too.”

Media Enquiries

Mick Gibb | Media & Communications Manager
+61 423 149 494 | michael.gibb@elmosoftware.com.au

About Breathe HR

Breathe HR was acquired by ELMO Software in 2020 and was officially launched into the Australian and New Zealand market in 2021.  Founded in the UK in 2012, Breathe HR helps companies across the UK, Australia and New Zealand manage their people with easy-to-use HR software. Breathe HR enables SMEs to spend less time on HR admin, and more time with their people. 

About ELMO Software

Established in 2002, ELMO is a cloud-based HR, payroll, expense management and rostering / time & attendance software provider. The company offers customers across Australia, New Zealand and the UK a unified platform to help organisations streamline their people, process and pay. ELMO operates on a software-as-a-service (“SaaS”) business model based on recurrent subscription revenues.  For more information, please visit www.elmosoftware.com.au.