New research suggests that the personal finances, and private lives, of a lot of small business owners are suffering because of the rising costs associated with running their own company.
The study, conducted by the Centre for Economic and Business Research and Make it Cheaper, discovered that 47% of small business owners have had to inject some of their personal finances into their company this year.
89% of SMES think the UK is an unbearably expensive place in which to conduct business and a lot of them are only surviving by supplementing their company cash flow with their own personal finances.
The MD of Make it Cheaper, Jonathan Elliott, said the effects of cost increases and squeezed margins are not only affecting companies, but also the financial security of the businesses’ owners and families.
Another survey, this time form Bibby Financial Services, shows that more than 25% of SMEs feel they are only just surviving. 24% say trading conditions have deteriorated further since last year and 35% expect the UK economy to remain in the doldrums until at least 2014.
Edward Rimmer, the UK chief executive of Bibby, said businesses are still a long way away from a full recovery and although turnover is currently stable, there is a danger that negative growth could turn into a backward slide and lead the UK back into recession.
24% of small enterprises this that the economic recovery can be best helped by a loosening of lending criteria. Despite this doom and gloom, 70% of businesses in East Anglia are optimistic about their future and 50% share the same optimism in several other areas of the UK.
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