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WHO DARES WINS. 8 IN 10 SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS SAY THEY ARE MORE PREPARED TO TAKE RISKS DUE TO THE PANDEMIC
13 August 2021FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Eight in 10 small business owners (83%) say they are “more prepared to take risks” as a result of their experiences during the pandemic, according to a survey by free PR platform, Newspage.
Just 11% of the poll’s 1200 respondents, from a wide range of sectors and located around the UK, said they are “less prepared to take risks” in their capacity as a business owner, while 6% said they were not sure.
Meanwhile, a thumping majority of small business owners (93%) say the pandemic has made them feel “better equipped” to deal with uncertainty, with just 4% saying they now feel “worse equipped” to deal with economic and business-related uncertainty. Only 3% were unsure.
The ‘Who Dares Wins’ attitude among small business owners inspired by the pandemic is reflected in their approach to the year ahead.
Despite the looming end of the furlough scheme, potential tax rises on the horizon and the threat of interest rate hikes to contain inflation, nearly nine in 10 respondents (88%) said they plan to grow their way through the next 12 months. Just 7% said they were planning to “batten down the hatches”, while 5% were unsure.
As part of the survey, Newspage users were asked how they felt they had changed as a small business owner since the beginning of the pandemic. Select responses are included below.
Dee Featherstone, founder of Peterborough-based The Little Sensory Box: “Since the pandemic, I am more prepared for growth but also more capable of adapting much quicker if need be. I am no longer scared to take the risks needed to scale further. The pandemic has made me more resilient as both a person and as a business.”
Gillian Jones-Williams, managing director of Fareham-based Emerge Development Consultancy: “Our business has changed immeasurably since the beginning of the pandemic. As a face-to-face training company, we lost everything in March 2020 and had to reinvent ourselves within the field of virtual delivery. As challenging as it was, we are definitely stronger as a business and can see how we can grow in the future.”
Maddy Alexander-Grout, CEO of Southampton-based My VIP Rewards: “The pandemic made us realise that our business model wasn’t working and we changed everything in order to grow. We rebranded, changed our product and re-aligned with our target audience. Ultimately, the pandemic gave us time to think everything through and we are now ready to grow and scale in a more efficient way.”
Andrew Deighton, owner of Derby-based AWD Development Solutions: “In a strange way, the pandemic has helped me longer term. I’m definitely more aware of what I do and how I want to do it. The whole pandemic experience has given me a stronger foundation.”
Sandra Wilson, director of Ipswich-based recruitment and HR company, Cottrell Moore: “Nothing has ever made us focus more on the need to evolve and embrace change than the pandemic. I have personally learnt that taking risks in certain situations can often be the best way to ensure success. In the business world, fortune very often favours the brave.”
Sam Sutton, director of Hampshire-based New Forest Activities: “Navigating the pandemic has brought us together as a team. We now collectively feel more responsible for the results we achieve and are thinking much bigger as a result. As a business owner, I’m now looking at acquisitions and start-ups in order to take full advantage of the opportunities open to us.”
Kelly Smallcombe, founder at Bristol-based Evolved Creative: “As a small business owner, the pandemic has been a time to rethink everything I’ve been doing and look at things through a completely new lens. Covid-19 has taught me to be prepared and be willing to adapt to changing circumstances. I won’t be waiting for the next pandemic, but will use all I have learned over the past 18 months to see it through.”
Tina Judic, CEO of London-based digital agency, Found: “The start of the pandemic was a concerning time but we recognised early on that it provided an opportunity to seize the moment and that future plans could be rolled out sooner than intended. We’ve made a number of hugely positive steps to business growth that we perhaps wouldn’t have taken so quickly under normal circumstances.”
Commenting on the survey results, Dominic Hiatt, founder, Newspage, added: “Based on this evidence, the past 18 months have fundamentally changed the psychology of small business owners. They’re a lot more resilient and able to cope with uncertainty, more prepared to take on risks to grow and more bullish generally given that they have managed to survive. This confidence bodes well for the future and the economic uncertainty that lies ahead.”
— ENDS —
Notes to Editors
For more information, please contact: Dominic Hiatt, Founder, Newspage: 07595 221604 | dominic@newspage.co.uk
Newspage polled its user base between 6 and 8 August 2021.
About Newspage
Newspage gives small businesses and charities the ability to be featured in the local, national and trade media for FREE, while also acting as a fully branded ‘media centre’ where they can be found by journalists in need of expert comment. Simply create your own Newspage in a matter of minutes and then be alerted to relevant stories you could contribute to as they break. #BeTheStory
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SMALL BUSINESSES SEE TAX RISES AS BIGGEST THREAT TO UK ECONOMY
30 June 2021FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Government raising taxes to rebalance the books poses the biggest threat to the UK’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey of 1008 small business owners by free PR platform, Newspage.
39% of respondents, from a wide range of sectors and located around the UK, believe the need to start paying off the debts accrued over the past 18 months represents the biggest danger to the country’s economic recovery.
For 35% of respondents, the end of furlough and rising unemployment is the biggest threat, while just over a quarter of those polled (26%) said interest rate rises caused by rising inflation will be the primary challenge for UK Plc.
Meanwhile, a clear majority of small business respondents (59%) believe that the end of the Government’s support scheme will have a ‘negative’ impact on the UK economy, with 6% believing it will have a ‘devastating’ impact.
18% of those polled believe the end of the furlough scheme will have ‘no impact at all’ on the economy, while 17% believe it could have a ‘positive’ impact.
Select views from the Newspage community:
Gillian Jones-Williams, Managing Director at Fareham-based Emerge Development Consultancy:
“At some point in the not-too-distant future, Rishi Sunak will stop being the ‘good news fairy’ and the reality of burgeoning tax bills will start to hit home. For small companies who have spent the past year and a half clinging on to save their businesses, this could be the final nail in the coffin.”
Debbie Porter, Managing Director of Bakewell-based Destination Digital Marketing:
“Medically, we are well along the pandemic curve, but in economic terms, we are only at the beginning. Rishi Sunak has warned on several occasions that tax rises will be needed to pay back the huge debts we’ve incurred during COVID-19, and the only question is when the great payback begins.”
Amit Shah, Co-founder of Milton Keynes-based educational learning product provider, Teddö Play:
“Though we might be through the worst of the pandemic, the economic after-effects are only just beginning. The immediate risks to our economy are a rise in inflation, rising interest rates as a result, and the end of the furlough scheme, which could see unemployment soar and speed up bankruptcies across large and small companies alike.”
Lee Marples, Co-founder of Derby-based creative agency, Think3:
“Furlough has masked the country’s true economic state. What happens when that support ends? Almost certainly, rising unemployment, a fall in consumer spending and recession, potentially a devastating one.”
Lewis Shaw, Founder of Mansfield-based Shaw Financial Services:
“We are nowhere near the worst of the economic turbulence to come as a result of the pandemic, a turbulence, let’s not forget, turbocharged by Brexit. We’re about to find out how much nous the Government has really got.”
Bev Wakefield, Director at Derby-based Vibrant Accountancy:
“Businesses go bust on the way out of a recession, not on the way in. I’m predicting difficult times for many companies during the next 12 months, with interest rates rising and inflation potentially wreaking havoc. Businesses in some industries and sectors will continue to thrive, but for many the furlough scheme has merely delayed the inevitable.”
Rob Gill, Founder of London-based Altura Mortgage Finance:
“There’s every chance the economy will bounce back strongly as the pandemic comes to an end. Many households have saved significantly over the past year or so, and there’s a lot of pent-up demand for holidays, meals out, entertainment and downright fun. There is a very real prospect of a 21st Century ‘Roaring 20s’.”
Peter Francis, Engineering Director at Worcester-based MAT Ltd:
“While the furlough scheme has supported many businesses, it has also demoralised many people and they want to feel productive and valued again. One positive is that small businesses can quickly adjust their vision and goals, so now is the time for them to take some brave steps.”
— ENDS —
Notes to Editors
For more information, please contact:
Dominic Hiatt, Founder, Newspage: 07595 221604 | dominic@newspage.co.uk
Newspage polled its user base between 28 and 29 June 2021.
About Newspage
Newspage gives small businesses and charities the ability to be featured in the local, national and trade media for FREE, while also acting as a fully branded ‘media centre’ where they can be found by journalists in need of expert comment. Simply create your own Newspage in a matter of minutes and then be alerted to relevant stories you could contribute to as they break. #BeTheStory