Five years ago, opening a new business on Forest Road meant signing a lease, fitting out a shopfront, printing menus or flyers, and maybe - eventually - getting around to building a website. That was the order of things. Digital came later, if it came at all.

Walk into the newest businesses in Hurstville today and you’ll find that sequence has been completely flipped. The latest wave of small businesses aren’t just online. They’re born digital, with AI-powered tools baked into their operations from week one.

Old Playbook vs New Playbook

Hurstville’s established businesses - the restaurants along Forest Road, the shops in Westfield - have served this community well for decades. But many had to scramble to go digital during the pandemic, bolting on online ordering or booking systems after the fact.

The newer arrivals are different. They’re building around technology from the ground up. I spent a few days talking to three new Hurstville businesses that opened in the past six months, and what stood out was how naturally digital tools are woven into everything they do.

Golden Grain Bakery: Sourdough and Software

Mei Lin opened Golden Grain Bakery on Treacy Street in September last year. Before she sold her first loaf of sourdough, she already had an AI bookkeeping system tracking expenses, automated social media posts scheduled across Instagram and Facebook, and an online ordering platform for custom cakes and catering.

“My mum ran a bakery in Kogarah for fifteen years, and she did all the books by hand,” Mei told me. “I watched her spend Sunday nights at the kitchen table with receipts and a calculator. I wasn’t going to do that.”

Golden Grain uses Xero with AI-powered categorisation that sorts transactions automatically. Her social media content is planned a month ahead using scheduling tools, and customer orders come through an online form that syncs straight to her production calendar.

The result? Mei says she spends about three hours a week on admin. Her mum used to spend ten times that. “I’d rather be baking,” she said. Hard to argue with that.

Shire Physio & Movement: No Clipboard in Sight

A few blocks away on Queens Road, Shire Physio & Movement opened in November. It’s run by Sam Andersen, a physiotherapist who spent five years at larger clinics before going out on his own.

Walk in and the first thing you notice is what’s missing: no paper intake forms, no clipboard with a pen on a string, no dog-eared appointment book behind the desk. Everything runs digitally. New patients fill in their history online before they arrive. Appointment reminders go out automatically via text. Sam uses an AI-assisted note-taking tool during consultations that generates treatment summaries, giving him more face time with each patient.

“In my old clinic, we spent ages on paperwork,” Sam said. “I set this up so the technology handles the admin and I handle the patients.”

He’s also running an AI chatbot on his website for common questions - parking, what to wear, whether a referral is needed. According to SmartCompany, more than 60% of new Australian small businesses now adopt some form of AI tooling within their first year. For practitioners like Sam, it’s becoming standard.

Brightpath Tutoring: Digital by Default

Perhaps the most interesting example is Brightpath Tutoring, which opened on the corner of Park Road and Forest Road in late January. Run by Priya Sharma, it offers maths and English tutoring to primary and high school students across the St George area.

The twist? Every parent gets a real-time dashboard showing their child’s progress, session notes, and areas for improvement. Communication happens through a dedicated app rather than email or phone tag. Invoicing is completely automated.

“Parents are busy. They don’t want to chase you for updates,” Priya said. “The dashboard is there whenever they want to check in, and I get notified if something needs my attention.”

She’s also using SafetyCulture’s digital checklist tools to manage compliance - working with children checks, first aid kit audits, fire safety procedures. It’s the kind of behind-the-scenes detail that customers never see but that keeps the business running smoothly.

A Generational Shift

Hurstville has always been a hub for small business. The mix of multicultural food spots, professional services, and retail along Forest Road is one of the things that makes this area what it is. What’s changing isn’t the entrepreneurial spirit - it’s the toolkit.

These new business owners aren’t tech companies. They’re a baker, a physio, and a tutor. But they’ve grown up with smartphones and social media, and they don’t see a reason to run their businesses any differently than they run the rest of their lives.

Established business owners shouldn’t feel left behind, either. Programs like the NSW Small Business Technology Adoption grants are designed to help, and plenty of the tools these newer businesses are using - Xero, scheduling apps, chatbots - are available to anyone with an internet connection and a bit of time to learn.

Hurstville’s business landscape is shifting. Not because the old ways don’t work, but because a new generation of owners has arrived with different expectations. If you’re still doing things the traditional way, it might be worth seeing what your new neighbours down the street are up to.

The next wave of Hurstville business isn’t coming. It’s already here.