Inspira UK and ETC Consultancy sponsor leading entrepreneur network survey

Inspira UK and etc consultancy have joined forces this summer to commission a business owner-manager targeted survey, entitled ëKey Challenges For The Growing Business: Major Barriers to Growthí.


Findings borne out of this survey (from a base of 90 UK entrepreneurs) suggest barriers to growth experienced over the last three years are attributable to a combination of factors, including: the correlation between sales/profit and expectation based on the creation of a business plan; identifying new sales leads, cash issues and recruiting the right staff; the need to both recruit and retain the right staff; administrative burdens and considering where business owner-managers should be focusing their attention.

Based on a response value of ëwell,í ësomewhat,í or ënot and all,í 88 per cent of respondees confirm they have experienced a positive increase in sales, over the past three years, a comparable 80 per cent of those interviewed confirmed an increase in profits during the same time scale (based on the same response values). Sales were particularly strong within the 3-5 million turnover bracket, with 100 per cent of respondees performing ëwellí or ësomewhat,í whilst 88.9 per cent of the 5 million turnover experienced the highest profits (75 per cent).

Independent academic research suggests that there is a direct correlation between writing a business plan and how this positively affects growth ñ good news for UK TEN members, with 77 per cent of those interviewed having a business plan in place. By comparison, statistics from a 1993 survey confirm that over 67 per cent of companies with a turnover of 10 million or less did not have a business plan in place. This shift in emphasis perhaps reflects increased awareness and/or a need to put pen to paper when looking at strategic corporate growth.

The three main factors holding back growth identified within the survey were new sales lead generation (17.17 per cent); cash (15.49 per cent) and recruiting the right staff (14.48 per cent). Interestingly, considerably less emphasis was placed on retaining the right staff (only 2.69 per cent) ñ an area that perhaps requires due attention considering that your business is only as effective as the people running it, regardless of the quality of your product/service. Yet how do you define ëcashí related issues and what are the best ways to go about seeking and securing new business?

Administrative burdens on the owner/manager business are biased towards employment law issues (21.31 per cent) and NI and PAYE paperwork (21.31 per cent). But are these issues based on the entrepreneurís lack of knowledge, or more on ever-increasing legal procedures or a resistance to outsourcing legal and financial reporting systems?

Perhaps by shifting the owner-managerís focus from internal procedures to considering the bigger picture (69 per cent of those surveyed confirmed that they spend the majority of their time working ëiní rather than ëoní the business) this could have a positive affect on those businesses with less than 50 employees and 5 million turnover.

According to Sue Higgins, managing director of Inspira UK, one of the organisations that commissioned the ëKey Challenges For The Growing Businessí entrepreneur survey:

ìIt is crucial that businesses of all sizes and particularly those experiencing growth are aware of potential and real barriers before issues reach crisis point. Inspira works with both large corporates and the emerging brand leaders of tomorrow and whilst some problems experienced may be similar, across the board, generally speaking, within the smaller organisation, transparency coupled with maximising talent resources is essential.

ìFindings revealed from survey results reflect areas for consideration at any stage of business growth: business leaders could be focusing more of their attention ëoní rather than ëiní the business (although admittedly this is easier to justify, time and resource-wise, in a larger organisation) and might consider staffing and retention/loyalty when looking at further developing sustained and organic corporate growth,î she added.

The etc consultancy and Inspira UK survey results are available in the form of a Powerpoint presentation together with notes on top tips on employer branding and how to motivate and engage your staff. To receive an emailable copy please contact prconsultancy@mirandaleslau.com

Inspira UK provides intelligent HR solutions to a cross-section of human capital and brand related issues.

etc consultancy provides training and consultancy for ambitious growing businesses. Their Accelerated Growth Programme (AGP) allows business leaders time out to focus ëoní the business and their own personal development. Course delegates also benefit from interacting with other, like-minded individuals. For more information please visit www.etcconsultancy.co.uk