Surviving the slowdown

Six months after the Office for National Statistics officially announced that the UK is in a recession, a new report from Intuit, provider of QuickBooks financial management software, reveals how small business Britain has been holding up over the past 12 months.

The results of the research show that while one in 20 businesses have been impacted so severely by the recession that their survival may be at risk, encouragingly, one in four felt no noticeable effect and 35 per cent had felt a negligible impact. Three-quarters of the businesses interviewed stated their survival was down to their own individual efforts. In addition, only 23 per cent of respondents felt it had been easy to access external help and advice, reinforcing the idea that the survival of the majority of small was down to them alone.

In receiving little support, small business owners have used their initiative and adopted a raft of measures over the past year to protect themselves from the downturn. The most common initiative, adopted by 45 per cent of respondents, has been to reduce overheads and implement a tighter management of outgoings. The second most popular step, which nearly a third of business owners took, was to introduce new products or services. Third was renegotiating prices with suppliers, with 74 per cent of respondents claiming success from this approach.

“For the past year, small business Britain has been struggling with one of the worst recessions of all time,” says Pernille Bruun-Jensen, managing director of global small business at Intuit. “With over 35 per cent of the UK economy reliant on the more than 4.7million small businesses operating in the UK, their success is as vital as any of the large publicly quoted businesses.

“While our research shows that it has not been easy for small businesses, it highlights that many have not rested on their laurels in the absence of tangible government support. There is clearly a toolbox of proactive measures out there that business owners can take to steer them through any downturn and that many small business owners have taken over the past year to ensure survival and success.”

The report also offers guidance to small business owners on how to navigate their businesses through an economic slowdown, including practical advice from their peers on what measures they have taken to weather the storm. The Intuit ‘Small Business Recession Review and Guide’ can be downloaded for free at www.smallbizmatters.co.uk.