Happiness & Heartbreak

Over the last three weeks, we’ve been promoting the results of our SME survey – Happiness and Heartbreak. It has revealed the thoughts of business owner/managers from across the UK – but what are their thoughts when it comes to selling their businesses and moving on?

Our research on ‘Succession Planning’ has produced some interesting outcomes:

• Only 16% of business owners are planning to hand control of their business to another family member
• 42% are worried that they’ll never be able to extract capital from their business or ‘monetise’ their investment
• 45% of business owners would use advisers to find a buyer while 23% would use personal contacts
• An interesting statistic is that just 13% of business owners surveyed were 40 or younger – which does raise the question are there young entrepreneurs out there to buy businesses in the future?

To find out how other owner managers are dealing with the issue of succession download the survey now and share your thoughts in the comments area below. This is your opportunity to get your voice heard.

To ensure you maximise the return on investment in your business contact us.

Read the survey and let us know what you think…

We’re finally there, with the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition marking a new era for British politics.

Whatever you think of the outcome we are in for some interesting times ahead – particularly as government spending is squeezed (not good for suppliers to the public sector) and the tax system is overhauled. But how do the new policies of this coalition government match the views expressed by owner/managers in our SME survey – Happiness and Heartbreak?

This exciting new survey focuses on the experience of business owners and uncovers many key findings including:

• 56% of business owners said that an increase in Income Tax would heavily impact their motivation to grow their business.
• During the recession the banks sought to restrict or reduce access to credit facilities to 20% of businesses.
• 68% of the businesses surveyed had to take action to avoid making redundancies over the last year.
• 84% of business owners would recommend running a business to others.

Download the survey now and share your thoughts in the comments area below. This is your opportunity to get your voice heard.

If you require any further information, have any questions or would like any advice please do not hesitate to contact us.

As a business owner, you take tough decisions every day; you are not alone. Discover how other business owners have faced up to the challenges of the last 18 months – and what they think of the Government response, the banks, the business climate and the future.

The Haines Watts national SME survey – Happiness and Heartbreak – was designed to help us better understand the day to day and strategic challenges faced by business owners. And the thought-provoking findings have now been published by Haines Watts and are now available for you to download.

Read how other business owners are coping with the current economic climate, who they turn to for advice and the highs and lows of running a business. Then tell us what you think by adding your comments and experiences below.

Happiness and Heartbreak focuses on the experience of business owners and uncovers many key findings including:

• 1 in 4 business owners are ‘currently’ being asked to provide personal guarantees to support their business
• Only 14% of business owners felt the VAT reduction had helped their business
• 68% of business owners have avoided making redundancies in the past year

Download the survey now and share your thoughts in the comments area below. This is your opportunity to get your voice heard.

If you require any further information, have any questions or would like any advice please do not hesitate to contact us.