Meet the Aussie entrepreneurs living and working in Bali

The allure of Bali has long captivated Aussie travellers since the 1960s and shows no signs of slowing down, with the Indonesian island welcoming a record 1.2 million Australian visitors and holiday makers to its shores in 2023.

But for some, like chef and restaurateur Ben Cross, Bali is more than simply an idyllic holiday destination or digital nomad stint – it’s home.

Back in 2007, on his way to open a restaurant in Barcelona, Mr Cross made a stopover in Bali and fell in love with the island’s unique culture.

“Balinese people are so kind and welcoming and I think that’s what makes it such a special place,” Mr Cross told realcommercial.com.au.

“When I hopped off the plane that first time I was immediately greeted with a smile – it’s all very genuine.”

With Barcelona on the back burner, Mr Cross spent the next decade working as a chef in several restaurants on the island.

Together with his business partners, Cross launched his celebrated restaurant Mason in 2018, a Mediterranean-themed venue serving up wood-fired cuisine.

The hip beachside community of Canggu was the location chosen for the new hospitality venture – a town often referred to as Bali’s answer to Bondi Beach.

“It’s incredibly busy here now, but back then choices were pretty limited in Canggu. It was basically surf and breakfast culture, smoothies and vegan bowls,” Mr Cross explained.

“We thought we’d open a restaurant that was a little more grown up, somewhere you could get a good glass of wine and a nice meal.”

“And it just blew up. It was a lot quicker to grow than we ever expected and has never stopped.”

Bali business is booming

When Mitch and Emma Burgess expanded their renowned Oscar & Frank Eyewear business to Bali in 2019, they also decided on the hipster haven of Canggu as the ideal spot to open their first retail store.

“There were some really cool brands popping up over here and I thought having our name up in lights in Bali could be a good marketing exercise,” said Mr Burgess.

“There were also heaps of entrepreneurs in Canggu doing similar things, whether it was restaurants or something artistic. It’s a great environment for people that aren’t necessarily doing the nine-to-five.”

Mr Burgess said opening a store in Canggu far exceeded his expectations.

“We didn’t think it would go as mental as it did, but there are just so many tourists here buying retail,” he said. “Business is booming.”

Following the success of their flagship store, Mitch and Emma have opened a further two locations in Uluwatu and Seminyak, the latter inside The W Hotel.

According to Mr Burgess, operating brick and mortar stores in Bali has proved a far more profitable exercise compared to Australia.

“We probably won’t open any stores back in Australia because the rent and staff costs are just so high. And the economy really isn’t pumping so well there.”

Klim Swim

Swimming champion Michael Klim first moved to Bali with his family in 2012 with the intention of enjoying an extended family holiday.

“The idea was to reconnect and catch up on lost time, but we eventually decided to stay,” Klim recalled.

“There’s a certain energy that really drew me to the island. It’s a very progressive place that is constantly evolving.”

In 2022, the Olympic gold medal winner introduced Klim Swim, his successful swimming school business, to his adopted home.

“It was one of those pivotal actions due to Covid,” he explained.

“Klim Swim had been successfully running since the late ‘90s, but we unfortunately had to shut a couple of locations in Melbourne due to all the Covid restrictions.”

Alongside his partner, Michelle Owen, Klim now operates his swim schools out of two Bali venues – the Australian Independent School and FINNS Recreation Club – along with a third satellite location at The Independent School of Jakarta.

“It’s interesting to have gone full circle; retiring from sport, going into entrepreneurship with my skincare brand Milk and Co, and now coming back to swim coaching,” said Klim.

“I still do some corporate health and wellness work back in Australia, but Klim Swim has gone from strength to strength and become quite a significant movement here in Bali.”

Community collaboration

Working with the local community plays an important role for all three businesses.

For Klim Swim, providing employees of FINNS Beach Club with swimming education and lifeguard training is one of its core practices.

“There are very high rates of drownings here, as learning to swim is probably not regarded as a priority like it is in Australia,” Mr Klim explained.

“There is also between 2,000 and 4,000 tourists that come through FINNS on a daily basis, so making sure staff are up to scratch with their first aid and emergency response systems is really important.”

In the hospitality game, working with the local community has proved crucial for the Mason team.

“We’ve found that when opening a new venue, it’s important to focus on the local community and not try to push towards the tourist side of things too much,” Ben Cross explained.

“If you can win over the locals first, the tourists will soon catch on that your venue is the place to go.”

 

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For Oscar & Frank, looking after its employees is a high priority.

“It took some time to find the right people, but we’ve been working with our awesome local crew for a while now,” said Mr Burgess.

“We look after our staff and pay them well. And in return they look after us.”

“Unfortunately, a lot of operators here pay their staff the minimum or don’t pay them on time.”

Unique challenges

While it can appear very desirable on the surface, living and working in paradise does present its own unique set of challenges, said Mr Burgess.

“Obviously the traffic can be absolutely crazy, but one of the most consistent issues we face is getting stock into Bali,” he explained.

“Shipping into Indonesia can be an absolute nightmare due to issues with customs, which I won’t go into. We’ve been doing business here for five years now and still it’s a daily grind.”

When dealing with such headaches, Emma Burgess notes the importance of enacting patience: “Everything in Bali takes time.”

Mr Cross has also run into shipping issues when receiving produce like red meat from Australia and New Zealand.

“Luckily, we buy from large suppliers that deal with that side of things, but there can a knock-on effect where shipments get held up, or they don’t get their quotas passed by government, which means things can get a bit dry sometimes.”

One of the biggest misconceptions people have about living and working in Bali, Mr Burgess said, is that it’s cheap.

“Obviously there are cheap restaurants and things like that which are reasonable, but when you throw in things like international health insurance and schooling for the kids, it all starts to add up.”

“Schooling alone costs AU $20,000 a year per child.”

The magic of island life

When all is said and done on the business side of things, the relaxed lifestyle is the true drawcard of living and working in Bali, according to Michael Klim.

“People say Bali is losing its charm, but it’s still got plenty of magic left,” he said.

“Just this morning I was standing on the pool deck and I turned around and the sky was a beautiful violet colour from the sunrise. And during the day Michelle and I can sit on a daybed, enjoy a coconut, and the whole thing costs us five bucks.”

“I’d say the island still has plenty to love about it.”

Mr Burgess agrees.

“Bro, I get to live on a tropical island surrounded by people doing cool stuff. I pinch myself all the time.”