Perth’s southern suburbs revealed as top spot for new small business’ to launch in WA

It turns out Perth’s southern suburbs are some of the best spots in Western Australia for small business growth.

New data from the Small Business Development Corporation has shown more than 30,000 new sole traders and small businesses were established in Western Australia between 2020 and 2025.

Canning and Gosnells round out the top five, having established 2,250 and 2,920 new businesses respectively in the two cities. The City of Armadale came in sixth place with 1910 new small businesses, followed by Cockburn with 1650.

The business offers premium hair extensions and wigs designed to be affordable, and Ms Suttie-Norwood said it had taken a lot of work to get to where it is today.

“For two years it was just me at home or at the markets in Canning Vale every Sunday at 4am dragging the kids there. Everybody used to laugh at me but that has now kicked in quickly at the market,” he said.

“I was tired of paying $800 to $1,000 for beautiful, long hair, especially messy hair. I wanted something that was quick and easy but still felt like food. I didn’t want it to be Shein bullshit, I wanted to be that middle person.”

Since then it has attended various pop-ups at the Perth Royal Show, Westfield Carousel and Every Woman Expo, hired a team of 12 professionals and last year bought a shopfront in Canning Vale.

Bad & Boujee Hair now also offers wholesale products Australia wide.

Ms. Suttie-Norwood said that despite having no business ownership experience, she was able to develop her brand with the support of the SBDC.

“I used them when I first opened and they helped me define roles. I had no business knowledge in the beginning, so they helped me learn what I needed to do,” he said.

SBDC provides State Government-funded services to support emerging businesses with advice, skills workshops and dispute resolution.

Ms Suttie-Norwood used them to file taxes, regulate the lease terms of her shop, and provide support in employment and contract negotiations. The SBDC also ensured her compliance by guiding her through a Fair Work audit following a misunderstanding in recruitment.

He has also participated in business programs organized by the City of Canning, which he says has been critical to growing his business.

“I really trusted the City of Canning and called William Barry (the city’s chief economic advisor) about all my small business issues,” he said.

He advised her to take advantage of the Canning Plus Eight Sprint, a free six-week skills development and business development program run as part of the Canning Business Mentoring Programme.

She finished the program in second place and received a paid mentor for extra support.

Despite significant business growth, Ms Suttie-Norwood has been hit by cost of living pressures, which have recently forced her to move the shop to her home studio and reduce staff numbers.

The SBDC’s support has enabled him to adapt, and he plans to reopen a store on Cecil Avenue in the next few months.

“I currently have three staff and I’ve given them the opportunity to open their own business out of my home. One does both makeup and make-up for me, the other does spray bronzer and has just started her own lip business,” she said.

“A lot of people don’t start businesses or give up when the economy gets tough, but I’ll keep going.”

WA is currently home to almost 258,000 small businesses and sole traders, representing 97 per cent of all businesses in the state. The population is also expected to increase from approximately 3.1 million to 3.6 million in the next 10 years.

WA small business commissioner Saj Abdoolakhan said demand for small businesses would increase as the population continued to grow.

“This new research shows that the majority of entrepreneurs in WA choose to start their own businesses in the communities where they live, contributing to the local economy and providing essential services to the community,” he said.

“Small businesses remain the backbone of our economy and these figures show that there is no shortage of opportunities for people willing to support themselves and start businesses.”