Struggling businesses failing to find time to create growth strategies

Two in five small business owners say they have found running a business more difficult than expected.

According to a YouGov survey, 62 per cent of small business owners say their work is a ‘constant challenge’. Furthermore, 44 per cent of owners revealed they have missed a personal occasion because they are too busy running the company, with more than one in 10 even failing to attend their own birthday celebration.

No doubt the turbulent economic climate is contributing to the stresses and strains on SMEs in the UK, with many companies stating that the push of recession might in fact make it harder for them to keep pace with the rate of growth. Another contributing factor is the lack of lending options available for these invariably more cash-strapped businesses; last week it was revealed that lending to SMEs via the Government's Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) fell again in the second quarter of the year.

To return to the YouGov findings, the main challenges small business owners have faced include managing staff (32 per cent) and accounting or tracking finances (25 per cent). In fact, 22 per cent of decision-makers claim that their small business spends more than 10 hours per day on average on ‘behind the scenes’ admin tasks such as these.

With administrative tasks accounting for so much time, it is unsurprising that 73 per cent of the owners revealed they did not have time to think of ways to expand the business.

Needless to say, having a clear growth strategy is integral for any business, small or large. With funding woes exacerbating the general strains on SMEs, there are many businesses struggling to explore avenues for expansion.

Naturally for those in stronger positions, the opportunity is there for inorganic growth, taking on the struggling businesses to enhance their own offerings.

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